Maxon Precision Motors, an electric motor technology and motion control products provider, announced a strategic collaboration with National Instruments of Austin, Texas, to highlight mutual areas of interest in the field of robotics. Initiated in early 2006, the informal relationship between the two companies began with the inclusion of NI’s LabVIEW VIs in Maxon’s EPOS family of digital position and speed controllers. DARwin - Humanoid Robot. (Image: RoMeLa, Virginia Tech) Most recently, the companies have collaborated on the design and development of ViNI, an all-inclusive robotics platform created by engineers at NI. ViNI is driven exclusively by Maxon motors, gearheads and encoders, as well as NI’s CompactRIO embedded controls. Several joint marketing efforts are slated for 2010. The Massachusetts-based company will continue to focus its R&D efforts on electric motors, sensors and motion controllers, while the Texas company will leverage its LabVIEW platform, NI LabVIEW NI SoftMotion module and CompactRIO. For more information, visit: www.maxonmotorusa.com