Documenting LabVIEW Data&

Data Mining with LabVIEW and DIAdem

Presentation with self paced training exercises

Presentation Overview• Saving data using LabVIEW Data storage VIs

• Exercise 1- Using the LabVIEW data storage VIs

• Mining technical data using LabVIEW and DIAdem

• Exercise 2- Data Mining with LabVIEW and DIAdem

LabVIEW Data Storage TechnologiesFlexibility

Simple file I/OLVM, Write to Spreadsheet…

Custom requirementsUltra HS StreamingDatabases…

LabVIEW Data Storage VIsAdaptable & Structured Storage

Project Requirements

LabVIEW Data Storage VIs

Looking From the Acquisition Side

Acquire it Look at it Save it

Forget About it

Business as usual

The Challenge

Read it Look it Spending time filling in the

gaps

Data is often missing key descriptive information necessary to interpret the results properly

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Problems Compound

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Preventing the efficient flow of information, creating extra work for all

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Data Producers Data Consumers

The Solution

Conditions external to the test:•Operator’s name•Date / Time•Location•Temperature of the environment•Etc…

Test characteristics:•Test name•Unit•Comments•Maxima, minima•Etc…

Test values

Flexible data storage model improves the efficient flow of information

Comparing Traditional File I/O

FlexibleFlexibleXML

Not self describingRequires strict control over formatFast, Small FootprintBinary

Limited CapacityNo Structure (Flat 2D Table)Flexible, ExchangeableSpreadsheet (ASCII)

Con’sPro’s

National Instruments TDM FilesCombines XML + Binary

•Flexible•Small footprint•Easy to create (Complete API)•Easy to extend, customize•Designed for measurement data

Evolution of Traditional File I/O

TDM Files

Root•Description•Title•Author•etc

Group•Name•Description•etc.

Groups

Channel•Name•Comment•Unit•Max & Min•etc

Channels

XML Header (*.TDM)

Binary (*.TDX)

LabVIEW Storage VIs Write TDM Files

Capable of storing:•Analog waveforms•1D arrays of numeric values, strings, time stamps•DAQmx waveform attributes•Additional user defined properties

Combining the flexibility and structuring of XML together with the compactness that Binary files offer

Exercise 1: Storage VIs DemoAcquire & Write data

TDM file

LabVIEW Data Viewer

Read data

Part II Data Mining

Where is Your Test Data?

1. Can you easily locate test data that you need to work with?

2. Do you know what tests your coworkers have run? “Data Chaos”

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What are the Relationships in Your Data?

1. What happened in tests with similar conditions?

2. Was there a test run with these specific conditions?

3. What tests were run last week? “Data Mining”

What do the Analyzed Results Look Like?

1. Are you analyzing and reporting results consistently?

2. Is reporting test results is tedious, boring and time intensive?

f(x)

“Data Analysis and Report Generation”

Solution Overview

Analyzing

f(x)

MiningStoring

Data Mining Behind the Scenes

A922WX

UUT

C:\...\...\J.DoeABCD

PathOperator

Test Name

DIAdem Data Index*

DataPlugin

Configuring the data index•Index any file that has an associated DataPlugin•Index builds automatically, requires no programming, updates periodically•Index is built using all meta fields exposed by DataPlugin•www.ni.com\dataplugins

Arbitrary Data File

001100010100001011111011010110110001010100101001

Test Name: ABCDOperator: J. DoeUUT: A922WX

*Proto-type available now for use

Mining the Index

A922WX

UUTC:\...\...\J.DoeABCD

PathOperName

Key Mining Features•Mine for tests based on indexed meta data•Gain visibility of data from other users, old tests, etc•Invoke script from DIAdem mining interface to generate reports instantly

DIAdem Data Index* DIAdem Mining Interface*

Data via DataPlugin

Queries

*Proto-type available now for use

The First Step to Data Mining, is Creating a Data Index

Data Index

DFR44ASW2EEA922WXUUT

…………

T. John EFGJ.DoeABCD

John DoeHI

OperatorTest Name

Data Indexing1. Consolidates all descriptive information into a searchable table2. Automatically sweeps descriptive properties into the Data Index3. Data Index contains links to original data file path & location4. In this solution the actual data is not saved in the Data Index

Example LabVIEW Application for Data MiningDatamine

• Self configuring, data mining application that provides advanced searching on your test data

• Automatically imports all meta information from TDM files and all files supported by a DataPlugin* into a self configuring data management system

• Automatically updates Data Index as new data files become available

Features of Example data mining Application

*see ni.com/dataplugins

Hey, I found a new data file!

Exercise 2: Data Mining using LabVIEW and DIAdem

“Data Mining”

Find all the tests where…..

Exercise 2 set upDistortion & Linearity Test

Demo Set Up1. Characterizing op amps 2. Testing generates 100’s of datasets3. Looking to characterize offset voltages4. Searching for chips with very specific operational parameters5. Comparing and analyzing data posttest

Benefits of Data Mining• Find the proverbial “needle in the haystack”• Run comparison reports quickly• Find correlations in data you did not know existed• Have instant access to test results from multiple locations, and collected by multiple people

What to Remember About TDM

• Document your data for Google-like access• TDM uses XML (available in LabVIEW, DIAdem,

LabWindows/CVI)• TDM contains base set of properties (File, Group, Channel)• TDM accommodates custom user defined properties• TDM import filter for Excel• Major speed improvements of data storage VI’s in LabVIEW 8• DIAdem provides Google-like access

Materials Available to Help• Storage VI tutorials • Data mining tutorials and videos• Data mining seminar – LVUG presentation

ni.com/diademni.com/dataplugins

Additional Information• Please contact Tom.Ferraro@ni.com (512-683-6841) for additional information regarding this presentation.

• www.ni.com/diadem