How Multisim, ELVIS 2+ Board, and Labview All Connect

[Bushviper]

My school recently obtained some ELVIS 2+ boards and I have been tasked with figuring out exactly what they can do and how we can incorporate them into the curriculum as part of my work study.  Now I have all the basics down for building a circuit on the ELVIS, getting measurements and controlling inputs on the computer etc.  I would like to delve deeper into what the full potential of this device is by integrating it with multisim and Labview.  My question is, is it possible to construct a circuit (or partial circuit) in multisim and then send the output of said circuit to the ELVIS board where it could feed into an actual circuit.  For example, could I build a voltage supply virtually in multisim, and output the voltage to a specific pin on the ELVIS board where I could wire it into my built circuit?  Along the same lines, could I build a circuit on the board and send the output of the circuit to a program in Labview?  Is this board capable for such things or is its connections to labview and multisim just used as a comparison tool for real life readings and simulated readings?  What is the full potential of this board?

[Fernando_D]

Hello,

Glad to hear about you work with NI ELVIS. The integration between ELVIS and Multisim is limited to running circuit simulations and then comparing results with the real circuit, in other words, you can compare simulated vs real measurements; this is a great approach to circuits education. 

Now, if you want to have more control of the inputs/outputs available on NI ELVIS, then LabVIEW is the perfect fit. In LabVIEW you can use the NI ELVISmx Express VIs to configure settings for all the instruments. Furthermore, NI ELVIS is supported by the NI-DAQmx driver, therefore you can use the NI-DAQmx functions to acquire signals from the analog inputs, generate signals in the analog outputs, access the digital I/O and program general counter/timing functionality.

Visit the NI ELVIS & NI myDAQ Instruments and Applications community to learn more about the integration between ELVIS and LabVIEW; in this page you will find some ready-to-use applications.

Hope this helps!