There appears to be some inconsistency with regard to the release of LabVIEW for the LEGO Mindstorms EV3. The website at www.legoeducation.us/eng/misc/comparingEV3andNXT.cfm indicates at the bottom of its right-hand column that such support will be available in the fall of 2013 which I presume means around now. Do I presume that the other educational version, LabVIEW for Education, catering for more than just the LEGO NXT/EV3 and Tetrix will be released then also? The other question I have is whether these releases will have incorporated the VIs to allow use of not just the LEGO sensors but also those marketed by HiTechnic, Vernier (in conjunction with its adapter) and Dexter Industries - they suit science education best - and possibly MindSensors sensors and actuators also?
I ordered the EV3 Core and extension packs early and had mine delivered months back having also tried out a trial Core package earlier. As ordered (and the trial version) it had only the EV3 software and they only allow usage of the LEGO sensors and actuators, although HiTechnic can now provide downloads to incorporate for its sensors. Vernier's are in the course of being prepared, as also I gather are Dexter Industries and MindSensors. The EV3 advertised DCP/LogIT sensors I am dubious as to being developed at all. The EV3 software is very limited in what it allows too, as with the earlier NXT-G software, no XY graph plots so students could not plot the usual Ohm's Law test graphs of Voltage against Current, nor a Pressure against Temperature graph, amongst many other useful XY graphs. Only Y-Time graphs are allowed as far as I could tell. So the LabVIEW versions will be needed to do the sort of work needed in science education 11-18.
