Andrew Marles

Labview is great for this sort of thing and I don't think it's an overly complicated project if you have some good programming experience (which you do). You might have to make some adjustments for working with real hardware and sensors, but the great thing about the Labview development environment is how easy it is to prototype hardware functions, assuming you can hook everything up to the development system. You don't mention too many specifics about the hardware you'll be using. Are you able to use NI hardware for your system? If so, Labview is practically the default choice. However, what you'll be lacking, no matter how much programming experience you have, is the ability to really structure the Labview code effectively so that it is easy to maintain and expand in the future. What I've found with beginners is that it doesn't take them too long to get used to the very basics of using VIs and connecting wires, but it does take quite a bit of experience before someone is able to sit down and create intelligent Labview code without constant direction. All I can do is echo the other reccomendations to try to get hooked up with some training/guidance so that you'll see the foundation for a smart and organized application. One thing I've noticed is that it to me it seems that NI has added many features to the language which serve to ease the transition into dataflow programming. Sequence structures for example. I've seen a lot of examples where a programmer used to C or C++ will use them extensively to control the flow of their code, whereas a state-machine is often much more appropriate and flexible. I did this myself when I started with Labview. If you're not careful, your code will become utter hell to work with. That said, you'll learn best by doing and I'm sure you'll be able to make your project work within a reasonable timeframe. Just treat it as a learning experience and be prepared for the re-write after you become more accustomed to G.