ITI, one of the internationally leading companies in virtual system engineering, belongs to the first suppliers of an approved interface to dSpace real-time platforms. By developing the code-export interface, ITI precociously reacts on the increasing demand for physical models for HiL applications. Since the preview at the eighth HdT conference ‘Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation’ in September 2008 in Kassel, Germany and the official launch within the current SimulationX 3.1 release in October 2008, the interface has been successfully used in different industry applications. SimulationX models can be generated directly without MATLAB®/Simulink®/Real-Time Workshop® as C-Code, and can be compiled and transferred to DS1006-based real-time simulators from dSPACE.
To model complex systems a junction of components with different physical backgrounds in a simulation model is indispensable. Meaningful modelling concepts are used which are applicable preferably in various domains in the same way. SimulationX from ITI is such a tool for physical modelling. The software has been well established for years in development and design departments of leading OEMs and suppliers. Working as a simulation platform for the analysis of system performance SimulationX efficiently supports model design, for example, of powertrains and landing gears.
“SimulationX users do not manually have to formulate the equations of their systems, but easily build their models with industry-specific library components. This facilitates the fast construction of complex models that visualise the systems in detail,” explains Jens Schindler, ITI managing director.
The aim is to analyse the performance and control of new complex systems as well as to identify weak points at an early development stage. To minimise cost and time-consuming tests on prototypes the user can simulate SimulationX models in real-time. Therefore, the models are transferred to dSPACE real-time platforms. Usually, the model is transferred by integrating an S-function into
MATLAB/Simulink. The new C-Code-Export interface replaces this step.
Therewith, SimulationX-models can be directly transferred via Simulink to the dSPACE-simulator. In comparison to the model integration with Simulink Sfunction a higher processing performance will be achieved due to minimised effort for the administration of the simulation environment. Apart from this, additional software licences for the build-process are not necessary. On the test stand the user can work as usual with the experimental environment ControlDesk from dSPACE.
“By developing the code-export interface for the dSPACE DS1006 processor board we met the desire of our customers to directly integrate available customer models, supplier models and offline ones in a real-time system. By the help of developed CAN-Bus-types for the dSPACE DS4302 CAN interface board the modelling of the HiL-simulation can be made directly in SimulationX. Users benefit from a gain of time and increase in test efficiency as cost-intense and complex reimplementation of the model equation in the real-time environment are no longer needed. Perspectively, the support of further I/O-cards is planned,” says Jens Schindler about the benefits of the new interface.