Day 2 of NI Week continued to inspire those in attendance, with the keynote focusing on all the fascinating projects being done in the field with NI’s LabVIEW and CompactRIO architecture. Think of it as applications day. We heard about a crazy spectrum of applications, including CERN researchers sized down massive particle accelerators into smaller packages for treating cancer tumors and Indian businessmen are changing the way that milk is collected and processed in rural India, thanks to battery cooling systems. Specialized bicycles optimized their wind tunnel so they can better design for aerodynamics. Thales UK is working on improving communication-based train control and Duke Energy is monitoring energy plants across the East Coast. All with NI help, of course.

Intel was on stage, too, talking about the emergence of intelligent systems and their connectivity. There was a Pepsi vending machine example that transmits all sorts of data back to the company–certainly not your grandfather’s vending machine.

We did a bit of exploring the show floor today, as well, and there was so much interactivity, especially in the Sports Science area. Attendees are encouraged to register and participate in different measured performance sections, including a stationary bike, a golf swing analyzer, a ladder run and a ball toss. The integration of NI products wt the various sensors was pretty interesting to witness.

Also intriguing was the robotics area, where the University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute was displaying robots tat have an amazing variety of facial expressions possible. These are used to work with autistic children, quite a heartwarming departure from other nearby displays, including a massive rocket powered car!

Tomorrow, the event finishes up for 2013. Watch for our latest video this evening, which features our editors speaking with Dr. James Truchard, the President, CEO and co-founder of National Instruments.