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FRC / LabVIEW

First Robotics Competition

FRC / LabVIEW

01 · Module 1: LabVIEW Project Basics1/1
  • Robot Project Structure
02 · Module 2: TeleOp Control
  • TeleOp VI Basics
03 · Module 1: Autonomous Flow
  • Autonomous State Flow
04 · Module 2: Safety and Recovery
  • Motor Safety and Recovery

01 / Module 1: LabVIEW Project Basics

Robot Project Structure

Learn which LabVIEW VIs run during a match.

40 minStart hereModule 1: LabVIEW Project Basics

You will

  1. 01Identify Begin, TeleOp, Autonomous, and Finish.
  2. 02Explain what robot references are for.
  3. 03Find where a motor or sensor should be initialized.

LabVIEW robot code is split by match phase

FRC LabVIEW projects are organized around VIs. Begin initializes robot hardware, TeleOp runs during driver control, Autonomous runs during auto, and Finish closes references.

Wires show data flow

Unlike Java, LabVIEW makes execution visible through wires. If a value is not wired into a node, that node does not have the value.

LabVIEW habit

Follow the wire, not the screen position. Dataflow decides when a node can run.

Easy mistake

Initialize robot hardware in Begin.vi so other VIs receive the same reference.

LabVIEW project walkthrough

LabVIEW diagram viewer

Block diagram walkthrough

Hover a VI. Press Ctrl-H for help.

Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.
Block diagram walkthrough

Practice

Open the robot project and trace one motor reference from Begin into TeleOp.

Checks

  • You can name the VI that initializes hardware.
  • You can name the VI that reads joystick input.
  • You can explain why references are closed in Finish.

Check your understanding

Module check

What should you check first when robot code does not behave as expected?

0 of 1 answered

References

WPILib LabVIEW DocsOfficial FRC LabVIEW programming documentation.FRC LabVIEW ResourcesTutorials, examples, and LabVIEW learning resources.

Finished reading?

Mark this lesson complete.

You'll move on to “TeleOp VI Basics” next.

TeleOp VI Basics