User's Manual

Chapter 1 Introduction
NI PCI-1426 User Manual 1-2 ni.com
Software Overview
Programming the NI 1426 requires the NI-IMAQ driver software for
controlling the hardware. National Instruments also offers the following
application software packages for analyzing and processing your acquired
images.
• Vision Builder for Automated Inspection—Allows you to configure
solutions to common inspection tasks.
• Vision Development Module—Provides customized control over
hardware and algorithms.
NI-IMAQ Driver Software
The NI-IMAQ driver software ships with the NI 1426. NI-IMAQ has an
extensive library of functions—such as routines for video configuration,
continuous and single shot image acquisition, memory buffer allocation,
trigger control, and device configuration—you can call from the
application development environment (ADE). NI-IMAQ handles many of
the complex issues between the computer and the image acquisition device,
such as programming interrupts and camera control.
NI-IMAQ performs all functions required for acquiring and saving images
but does not perform image analysis. Refer to the National Instruments
Application Software section for image analysis functionality.
NI-IMAQ is also the interface between the NI 1426 and LabVIEW,
LabWindows
™
/CVI
™
, or a text-based programming environment. The
NI-IMAQ software kit includes a series of libraries for image acquisition
for LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, and Measurement Studio, which
contains libraries for Microsoft Visual Basic.
NI-IMAQ features both high-level and low-level functions. Examples
of high-level functions include the sequences to acquire images in
multi-buffer, single-shot, or continuous mode. An example of a low-level
function is configuring an image sequence, since it requires advanced
understanding of the Vision device and image acquisition.
National Instruments Application Software
This section describes the National Instruments application software
packages you can use to analyze and process the images you acquire with
the NI 1426.