How to Get Dynamic Google Maps on the Front Panel of LabVIEW

Updated Mar 23, 2023

Environment

Software

  • LabVIEW

I need to interface Google Maps™ API with my LabVIEW project in order to display the map and move it (zooming, shifting the map with the mouse, and placing markers among others). How can I do that?

LabVIEW provides an example project for interfacing with the Google Maps™ API, but now Google makes the API keys paid.

In case you have Google Map™ API Key, you can go by the following link: GMaps API.

In case you don't have a Key, you can interface Google Maps™ through ActiveX control. Place an ActiveX Web Browser control on a front panel by right-clicking on a front panel >> .Net & ActiveX >>  Web Browser.

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On the Block Diagram, place an ActiveX Invoke Node by right-clicking on the Block Diagram >> Connectivity >> ActiveX >> Invoke Node (ActiveX).

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Wire WebBrowser Control to Invoke Node (ActiveX), click on the Method and select Navigate:

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Add Google Maps™ URL to the URL input of an Active X Invoke Node 

And finally, place a Close Reference node by going Connectivity >> ActiveX >> Close Reference from the Block Diagram.

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Additionally, you can place a while loop before closing the reference so that Google Maps™ will be able to update continuously.
 

At the end, you should have a block diagram, similar to the following screenshot:

image.png
 

Attachments

GMap Example.vi

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