Project work
Before starting the project work
Go through the basics of Labview using the resources listed in the Materials section of this webpage.
Before you start planning and implementing your project, make sure that you are familiar with following concepts: SubVI, Shift Register, Cluster, Event Structure, Producer/Consumer Model, Master/Slave Model, State Machine, Queue. Finish Labview Core 3 Training before you start working on the project (See Materials page)!
Some of these features and concepts will not be applicable to your project, and therefore you should not try to forcibly utilize them. Still, you should be aware of these concepts and take advantage of them whenever applicable. For example, independent sections of code that are used in multiple parts of the program, should always be turned into subVIs, unless there is a strong reason not to.
Subject of the project work
You can choose the subject of the project work freely. Due to
the restricted access to laboratory spaces and the availability of
equipment, it is difficult for course organizers to provide access to
their measurement instruments. Therefore, it is preferable that project
is based on equipment you have easy access to through, e.g.,
personal life, hobbies, studies, or work.
Labview allows easy
interfacing with audio instruments, web cameras, microcontrollers, and
most other instruments that provide some form of instrument-to-computer
interface. If you can't think of a suitable subject for your project
right away, you can browse the various Labview examples in the internet
for ideas. (The implementation has to be your own, though.)
It is also possible for the project to include little or no actual hardware instrumentation, as long as the project follows principles of virtual instrumentation and the capability to interface with measurement hardware is demonstrated in one way or another.
Contacting the teacher
When you are ready to start working on the project, contact the responsible teacher and explain your project idea to him. The plan does not have to be fully formed at this stage. You should contact the teacher even if you are unsure whether the project idea is suitable for this course - the teacher will most likely be able to answer that.
If you ran into into any problems during the project, do not hesitate to contact the teacher.
Scope of the project work
The
course is worth 5 credits which (nominally) corresponds to about 133
hours of work. This includes the time it takes to familiarize oneself
with Labview as well as the actual project work and documentation. The
emphasis of the course is in the project work and documentation.
Therefore, the project should to be relatively extensive.
If you are unsure whether the completed project is extensive enough, contact the responsible teacher. He will be able to tell you if the program should be expanded to meet the requirements of the course and might be able to give you suggestions for additional functionality. If the project work feels too short but cannot be expanded upon in a non-artificial way, it is also possible to a make separate small program to complement the main program.