MANHASSET, NY — National Instruments has integrated drivers for Hokuyo's URG Laser Range Finders as a standard feature for the newly released NI LabVIEW Robotics 2009 software.

URG sensors from Hokuyo Automatic Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) have been recognized as the smallest laser range finders available on the market and are suitable for small robotics platforms.

Since its release in 2004, the URG-04LX has been widely used in robotics research laboratories around the world. Currently more than half a dozen of models are available to handle various needs of robotic researchers.

Integration of Hokuyo's URG drivers in LabVIEW Robotics creates an ideal environment for developing advanced applications and algorithms based on laser range finders such as intelligent navigation, 3-D mapping, path planning and collision avoidance, according to Toshihiro Mori, Director of Engineering at Hokuyo.

The graphical programming of LabVIEW combined with the easy-to-use SCIP 2.0 communications protocol for Hokuyo URG family of laser range finders delivers a fast-track solution for developing intelligent robotic systems.

"The construction of our new 60,000 square-foot factory in Osaka, Japan will start later this year. This initiative confirms Hokuyo commitment in research and development of better and smaller LIDARs for robotic research communities," said Mori.

Hokuyo is a manufacturer of advanced optical sensors and optical communication devices.