An Integrated, Modular Simulation System for Education ... - Cal Poly

code. To process simple equations of motion takes about a millisecond. RTW uses ahardware timer driven interrupt to delay the program to equal the integration time step. Ifa integration time step of 10 milliseconds (0.010 sec) is selected in the model, RTWdelays the program 0.009 seconds more so that the code is running at the same rate as theintegration step size. Third RTW combines hardware drivers into the program to driveany device [Ref. 6] that can be connected to a computer. An inceptor device (input device- eg. Joystick) such as the BG Systems FlyBox represented in Figure 2, is included bywrapping the S-function IO code around the software drivers supplied by the devicemanufacturer. The RTW software includes any custom S-functions as well as built inSimulink blocks allowing applicationsof any level of complexity. In theoryanything that can be represented by aSimulink diagram can be simulated inreal time. Aircraft are complexFigure 2 FlyBox Inceptordynamic systems which are ideal forthe Simulink/Real Time Workshoppair. Real-time, or batch simulation and flight control law code is generated from aSimulink model of an aircraft, subsystem or component. The ability to include hardwaredrivers allows pilot in the loop as well as hardware in the loop and inflight simulations.Since the simulations are created on a PC, tools used in research and industry becomeavailable to anyone with the resources to set up, operate and program a PC.TCP/IP protocols used for network/internet based communications can beincluded as functions in the Simulink environment allowing computing to be distributedto other machines. The software developed takes advantage of the fact that personal5