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Single core or multicore computer for Labview RT ?

Hello together,

 

we are planning to purchase a laptop for high-speed data acquisition and perhaps also real time calculations and control of an external motor, based on the measured data. 

What computer would be suitable for this task? One with a single-core processor or one with a multi-core processor? I believe the latter choise would be best, but any advice would be great

 

Thanks!



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Hi Lysandros,

 

are there any (more or less modern) laptops with single core CPUs nowadays?

 

Please define your task with more details!

What means "high speed" for you?

What means "realtime calculations"? "Realtime" is completely different then "as fast as possible"!

Have you thought about using a cRIO, with using the embedded FPGA capabilities?

Have you heard about those specialized items aimed at motor/motion control from NI?

Best regards,
GerdW


using LV2016/2019/2021 on Win10/11+cRIO, TestStand2016/2019
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@GerdW wrote:

Hi Lysandros,

 

are there any (more or less modern) laptops with single core CPUs nowadays?

 

Please define your task with more details!

What means "high speed" for you?

What means "realtime calculations"? "Realtime" is completely different then "as fast as possible"!

Have you thought about using a cRIO, with using the embedded FPGA capabilities?

Have you heard about those specialized items aimed at motor/motion control from NI?


Thank you for the fast reply. 

 

Basically I meant, whether a processor optimized for single-core processing is worse, than one optimized for multi-core processing. I have heard that CAD for example, normally runs on one core at a time. I believe that in Labview, the tasks (time-deterministic I/O, Monitoring, GUI) can be assigned to specific cores. So a processor which is "good" for multi-core tasks is more suitable, right?

 

With speed I mean deterministic real time calculations of a HiL-Simulation modell with update rates up to 10kHz. I would like to try it with a laptop and if it does not work, may I will try to move the HiL-Simulation modell on a PLC (?).

 

For data acquisition I am planning to use CompactRio. As far as I know it can be connected to a laptop via Ethernet. But how about PXI or PCI devices. Can I conect the to a laptop or do I need a computer with slots where I can insert the acquisition cards?

 

Sincerely,

Lysandros

 

 



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Hi Lysandros,

 

So a processor which is "good" for multi-core tasks is more suitable, right?

Yes, I think so.

With modern CPUs you can even pin a process to one core to enforce TurboBoost features of the CPU…

 

With speed I mean deterministic real time calculations of a HiL-Simulation modell with update rates up to 10kHz. I would like to try it with a laptop

"Deterministic", "10kHz" and "standard laptop" (probably with WindowsOS) don't fit together!

Your laptop may be fast enough to run loops with 10kHz - but the jitter because of the OS will NEVER allow any "deterministic" behaviour!

 

I will try to move the HiL-Simulation modell on a PLC (?)

Move it to a cRIO target (or better: PXI-based system) and faciliate the FPGA…

 

As far as I know it can be connected to a laptop via Ethernet.

Yes.

 

But how about PXI or PCI devices. Can I conect the to a laptop

Not directly.

 

do I need a computer with slots where I can insert the acquisition cards?

Yes. Do you know any "standard" PCs with PXI slots?

 

Based on all those questions/remarks from you I STRONGLY recommend to call your local NI sales rep. Prepare your requirement sheet as best as possible before starting to discuss your needs with them!

Best regards,
GerdW


using LV2016/2019/2021 on Win10/11+cRIO, TestStand2016/2019
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@GerdW wrote:

I will try to move the HiL-Simulation modell on a PLC (?)

Move it to a cRIO target (or better: PXI-based system) and faciliate the FPGA…


Is your model written in LabVIEW using the control design toolkit, or is it MATLAB/Simulink?

 

With the Model Interface Toolkit (or whatever it's called now, it changed names), you can compile Simulink models into a DLL which you can then run directly on LabVIEW RT targets which will then run deterministically - providing that the cRIO/PXI/RT is powerful enough to run the model in real-time (and there are now some pretty powerful cRIOs).

 

You mention LabVIEW RT - but it's worth nothing that LabVIEW RT mostly only runs on cRIO/PXI controllers. You can run LabVIEW RT on desktop PCs, but it requires a license and a very specific hardware configuration (only some hardware is supported). Only LabVIEW RT will allow you to run things deterministically and in "real-time".


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Is your model written in LabVIEW using the control design toolkit, or is it MATLAB/Simulink?

 


Actually the modell is written in Simulink. There is a vehicle motion dynamics modell and a more simple load emulation modell, since real forces will also be applied on the system-under-test. As far as I know it is better to use different RT modules for these two.

 

 

With the Model Interface Toolkit (or whatever it's called now, it changed names), you can compile Simulink models into a DLL which you can then run directly on LabVIEW RT targets which will then run deterministically - providing that the cRIO/PXI/RT is powerful enough to run the model in real-time (and there are now some pretty powerful cRIOs).

So basically I can compile Simulink modells on the cRIO and use it as target? Can I use the two Simulink modells I mentioned, on the same chassis?

 

 

You mention LabVIEW RT - but it's worth nothing that LabVIEW RT mostly only runs on cRIO/PXI controllers. You can run LabVIEW RT on desktop PCs, but it requires a license and a very specific hardware configuration (only some hardware is supported). Only LabVIEW RT will allow you to run things deterministically and in "real-time".

Is it possible to use the laptop as a host PC and connect it to the cRIO-target, but also to the system-under-test (in this case a microcontroller-actuator system)?

 

Thanks alot

Lysandros

 

 



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So basically I can compile Simulink modells on the cRIO and use it as target? Can I use the two Simulink modells I mentioned, on the same chassis?

Yes exactly. You actually compile the models in Simulink on Windows but then you can download them to the RT target and there's a LabVIEW API to load/setup the model parameters, set the variables and run the model in a timed loop. Yes - you can run multiple models (in separate loops) as well as your own LabVIEW code at the same time. The documentation for it can be found here (which I think explains how it works, how to compile and run the models etc.): http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/374160B-01/vsmithelp/mit_vsmithelp_boilerplate/ (although the links appear broken, so you might need to find them elsewhere).

 

Is it possible to use the laptop as a host PC and connect it to the cRIO-target, but also to the system-under-test (in this case a microcontroller-actuator system)?

In the example I describe above, all of your deterministic stuff would run in real-time on the RT portion of the cRIO (or PXI). You would then have a user interface on the Windows host which communicates with the cRIO for passing data for displaying / controlling the model. If your microcontroller-actuator system communicates via RS-232 (or ethernet / SPI / I2C), you can communicate with that directly from the cRIO as well.


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