NI develops new software-designed controller based on FPGA

Recently, National Instruments introduced a new FPGA-based programmable controller, the CompactRIO-9068 software-designed controller. According to National Instruments, the new controller can complete any task requiring embedded control and monitoring, such as building a system to suppress fires on cargo planes and generate electricity using flight kites, as well as accurately stacking 20 tons of wet concrete.

　　A key component of the cRIO-9068 controller uses the Xilinx Zynq-7020 fully programmable chip system, which combines a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor with a Xilinx 7 series FPGA structure. It is reported that with a 667MHz dual-core ARM processor, the cRIO-9068 is four times faster than the previous version of cRIO. At the same time, the operating temperature range of the cRIO-9068 has also been expanded, from -40°C to 70°C.

　　National Instruments said that the Linux-based cRIO-9068 makes the controller compatible with third-party applications from the Linux community. The Linux real-time operating system of the cRIO-9068 is suitable for both LabView Real-Time and C/C++ application developers.

　　Local Grid Technologies has already adopted the cRIO-9068 in its Toronto Hydro application, which provides electricity to 719,000 customers in Toronto, Canada. Bob Leigh, president and CEO of Local Grid Technologies, said of porting existing LabView code from the cRIO-9074, "Within 24 hours of receiving the cRIO-9068 controller, we were able to run our existing LabView application software without any issues."

　　At the same time as the launch of cRIO-9068, National Instruments also released LabVIEW 2013, which supports the NI Linux Real-Time runtime system. New features of LabVIEW 2013 include enhanced code management for handling documentation and debugging, software engineering tools, mobile and network support, and an improved deployment model through the use of Wirebird Labs' new Deploy tool.