LabVIEW

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

lighting control

Hi i am hoping to produce a system using Labview 8.0 that would simulate multi room on/off lighting via a PC. i say simulate as it will never be integrated to a home but instead i will demonstrate with LED's that the system works. i am not sure whether or not to use a digital I/O board for the task?. any advice on the creation would be most welcome.
cheers Matt
0 Kudos
Message 1 of 4
(3,000 Views)
If you are only intending to run a simulation, then any available/convenient hardware should be OK - however if it is a simulation, you could do it in software only, with a nice graphical floorplan of a house and light up boolean indicators in the location for each light - easier, cheaper & quicker!
Message 2 of 4
(2,974 Views)
If you had a parallel port then you could support at least 8 LEDS, although I would think that simple on / off control would only suffice for school projects in my estimation.

More intresting, and more usefull would be to include a software / hardware abstraction layer (a specification including a series of functions) to allow for any type of of control to be bolted on afterwards to support control in the real world. This isolates the overall control from the nuts and bolts of manipulating hardware. Then you could use a graphical indication scheme (mimic) on the display. Even nicer would be mood lighting (colour and brightness) and specific memorised settings. Even the most basic building management systems now include movement sensors. But how about building activity simulation, security simulation (eg. fooling people into thinking there is someone at home) and don't forget external lighting. A modern living room can have around six or more lights so don't think too small.

Just a little story on how I grew to hate one of these systems. I lectured in a school for a while and the building had one of these automated energy saving systems installed. During the winter, if I had set the class an exercise and sat down to mark for a while, it used to turn off the lights, leaving us all in the dark! Smiley Wink. It's hard wok being on your feet for 2 hours at a timeSmiley Tongue . So how long, is long enough...? depends on the usage characteristics hint hint.

Message 3 of 4
(2,961 Views)

Hi,

  it also looks like there's another forum thread started on this topic too :

http://forums.ni.com/ni/board/message?board.id=170&message.id=212105#M212105

Thanks

Sacha Emery
National Instruments (UK)

// it takes almost no time to rate an answer Smiley Wink
0 Kudos
Message 4 of 4
(2,926 Views)