Mindstorms and LabView Options

[johnsal]

I appears that Legos is not using LabView on their newer products. Is that correct?

I am hoping to teach my teenagers about LabView using Mindstorms. Mainly watching eBay auctions and doing web searches.

I presume the Legos software is stand-alone, in that you don't need to have a full version of LabView.

Some kits are rated as 2+ years old, 9+, etc. What kit would be good for teens, I am fairly technical.

Thanks!

[Arham-H]

Hi Jonsal,

LEGO MINDSTORMS is based on LabVIEW so it will be used in future releases. The Legoes software is stand-alone and you do not need a full version of LabVIEW to program it. However if you have LabVIEW you can use the NXT toolkit (which is available to free) to program in LabVIEW.

We at National Instruments cannot recommend what kind of kits to use but I can direct you to the customer services web page for LEGO MINDSTORMS as they can better guide you, please see link below.

http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/support/default.aspx

Regards

[johnsal]

I have LabVIEW version 6.1. Will the and ex TES software work with this older LabVIEW version?

Does that mean that I don't have to buy the entire mind storms kits that I can just buy the controller and some of the parts?

[johnsal]

Sorry I meant to say NXT BIT my voice recognition software messed that up.

[Arham-H]

Hi,

I don't believe NXT module will work will LabVIEW 6.1 as the link below does not have an option for this version:

https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-15615

Also, I am not sure if the software is included as part of the kit or just the controller, so it would be best to talk with Lego customer support for pricing options.Please see link below for the customer support link.

http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/support/default.aspx

Regards