LabVIEW software from National Instruments has been used to accelerate development and research in robotic locomotion. While robot programming and control are usually written in C code, LabVIEW has been used for a fully autonomous humanoid robot that plays soccer and acts as a research platform for studying novel locomotion. Called the Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence (DARwIn), the robot' s bipedal locomotion is being studied at Virginia Tech. LabVIEW not only acts as an interface with the robot and as the brain of the robot, but also aids in verifying locomotion research. The robot has already been qualified as the first and only US humanoid robot for the international Robocup soccer competition.
National Instruments (www.ni.com)