Semtech accelerates time to market of RF ASIC development with Model-Based Design

MATLAB and Simulink Help Accelerate Development of Optimized Digital Receivers for Wireless RF Devices.

MathWorks announced Semtech Corporation used MATLAB and Simulink products to reduce development time of optimized digital receivers in wireless RF devices. Semtech, a leading supplier of high-quality analog and mixed-signal semiconductors, adopted Model-Based Design tools to create FPGA prototypes 50% faster than before, reduce verification time from weeks to days and shorten development time by 33%.

A Simulink model based on system specifications helped engineers rapidly evaluate design ideas and improved collaboration among engineering teams. Simulink and Simulink HDL Coder enabled engineers to create prototypes in a few weeks and eliminate hand-coding. Using EDA Simulator Link, Semtech engineers reused the Simulink system model to test multiple critical points in the design, verify the VHDL in less than a day, and reduce overall verification time from weeks to days.

“We were tasked with the challenges of accelerating the development time for a digital receiver and finding a way to improve our development workflow. MathWorks tools enabled us to explore more alternatives and new features, and ultimately deliver a more optimized, better performing design,” said Frantz Prianon, IC design engineer at Semtech. “With Simulink and Simulink HDL Coder, once we have simulated the model we can generate VHDL directly, prototype on an FPGA, and fully verify the VHDL implementation. It saves a lot of time, and the generated code contains some optimizations we hadn’t thought of.”

“Semtech represents the leading edge of semiconductor companies that are transitioning to new methodologies for highly integrated mixed-signal devices. With Simulink and Model-Based Design, Semtech was able to evaluate multiple design ideas at the prototyping stage and eliminate bottlenecks in their development workflows,” said Ken Karnofsky, senior strategist for signal processing applications, MathWorks. “Further, automatic HDL code generation with Simulink HDL Coder allowed Semtech to eliminate coding errors and quickly create a working FPGA prototype.”

Signal Processing Toolbox, DSP System Toolbox, Fixed-Point Toolbox and Simulink Fixed-Point all helped further accelerate the development of the digital receiver. Model-Based Design has enabled Semtech to transition to a fully digital platform, advance digital and mixed-signal designs, and reduce power consumption while supporting design-flow integration with other products such as Mentor Graphics® Questa® Advanced Simulator. Semtech is currently working on an ASIC implementation of the receiver.

More details on Semtech’s use of MathWorks tools can be found in the user story, “Semtech Speeds Development of Digital Receiver FPGAs and ASICs” available at: http://www.mathworks.in/company/user_stories/Semtech-Speeds-Development-of-Digital-Receiver-FPGAs-and-ASICs.html?by=company

MathWorks releases new versions of Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design

MathWorks today announced new versions of two products, Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design, that enable engineers to automatically tune complex control systems modeled in Simulink.

Most embedded control systems have a fixed, decentralized architecture with simple tunable elements such as gains, PID controllers, and low-order filters. Enhancements to Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design let engineers automatically tune all controller elements without changing the controller structure. This eliminates the need for tedious and time-consuming methods of tuning multiloop, decentralized control systems such as successive loop closure.

With the new capabilities, control engineers can:

- Select Simulink blocks to tune

- Specify requirements for bandwidth, stability margins, and tracking performance

- Automatically tune all control system parameters simultaneously

- Update selected Simulink blocks with tuned values

The resulting design can be verified by simulating the model.

Learn more about tuning complex controllers modeled in Simulink by visiting mathworks.in/products/robust.

Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design Simplify Complex Control Systems Tuning in Simulink

MathWorks today announced new versions of two products, Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design, that enable engineers to automatically tune complex control systems modeled in Simulink.

Most embedded control systems have a fixed, decentralized architecture with simple tunable elements such as gains, PID controllers, and low-order filters. Enhancements to Robust Control Toolbox and Simulink Control Design let engineers automatically tune all controller elements without changing the controller structure. This eliminates the need for tedious and time-consuming methods of tuning multiloop, decentralized control systems such as successive loop closure.

With the new capabilities, control engineers can:

Select Simulink blocks to tune
Specify requirements for bandwidth, stability margins, and tracking performance
Automatically tune all control system parameters simultaneously
Update selected Simulink blocks with tuned values

The resulting design can be verified by simulating the model.

Learn more about tuning complex controllers modeled in Simulink by visiting mathworks.com/products/robust.

MathWorks India concludes second annual User Conference

Keynote by Freescale Semiconductor Discusses Integration of MathWorks Products into Latest Line of Automotive and Industrial Automation Processor Families.

Bangalore: MathWorks, the leading developer of mathematical computing software, successfully concluded its second annual India User Conference in Bangalore on the 20th of October, 2011.

The daylong conference was attended by over 600 design engineers across industry verticals, including aerospace & defence, automotive, computers, electronics & semiconductors, industrial automation & machinery and technology services. The conference featured parallel tracks where MathWorks customers and technical experts from MathWorks discussed the capabilities of MATLAB and Simulink for Design, Modeling, and Simulation; Implementation and Verification.

Vivek Tyagi, county manager – sales and marketing, Freescale Semiconductor India, presented the customer keynote, and discussed the integration of MathWorks products on Freescale’s processors. He said, “Automotive companies are under tremendous pressure to introduce better and more-fuel efficient vehicles in the shortest time. MathWorks’ Simulink and Embedded Coder products are among the leading tools used by our customers for Model-Based Design with production code generation, and were a logical choice for tool chain integration with Freescale’s latest line of automotive and industrial automation processor families. I expect the ‘Motor Control Development Toolbox’ from Freescale, will allow users to leverage the modeling environment and embedded code generation capability from MathWorks to move quickly from simulation to Freescale silicon in minutes rather than days.”

Richard Rovner, vice president of marketing, MathWorks, delivered the keynote entitled “Trends in Engineering: Opportunities for Innovation.” He said, “Today’s increasingly complex systems are developed by teams of engineers spanning multiple disciplines, located around the world that must collaborate effectively under tight design deadlines. MATLAB, Simulink and Model-Based Design deliver critical technologies that help engineers address these design challenges, and we hope that through this conference, attendees are able to explore the many new capabilities available, to help them deliver innovation.”

The conference also featured insightful presentations by senior engineering managers from leading MathWorks India customers such as Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) of the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), General Motors Technical Center India Pvt. Ltd., and Whirlpool Corporation. The customer presentations facilitated experience-sharing and validated the pivotal role of MathWorks products and services.

“Many of the world’s leading engineering companies have their R&D establishments in India, and the country’s engineering design community is developing innovative products and applications for domestic and global use. We are happy that these engineers have placed their trust in MathWorks tools. We now have MathWorks offices in New Delhi and Pune to better address the needs of our growing base of commercial and academia users in Northern and Western India,” said Kishore Rao, managing director of MathWorks India. “I would like to thank all participating customers and partners for being a part of this year’s MathWorks India User Conference,” he added.

Demonstrations applying MathWorks tools throughout the technical computing, data analysis, control design automation, and signal processing and communications workflow from concept to implementation were on display. Participants benefited from the MATLAB and Simulink tutorials for first-time as well as seasoned users of the product. Master class tutorials were also conducted, providing techniques for users seeking a deeper technical understanding of product features and applications.

A dedicated exhibition area featuring MathWorks partners such as Agilent Technologies, Intrinsic Solutions (authorized distributor for Lyrtech software-defined radio (SDR) products in India), NVIDIA, Opal-RT Technologies, Tektronix, Texas Instruments, Vector and Xilinx offered participants the opportunity to browse through demos, offerings, and solutions.

MathWorks Strengthens Simulink Support for AUTOSAR Production Programs

Offers flexible support with AUTOSAR Target Production Package.

MathWorks today announced the launch of AUTOSAR Target Production Package, a flexible support package available to automotive engineers requiring advanced AUTOSAR capabilities with Simulink and Embedded Coder. The AUTOSAR Target Production Package helps engineers use more features of the AUTOSAR standard with simplified workflows involving Model-Based Design for production code generation, reducing development time and increasing product quality.

Key features of the Embedded Coder AUTOSAR Target with the AUTOSAR Target Production Package in MathWorks Release R2011b include:

- Support for AUTOSAR 3.2 enabling the use of the latest AUTOSAR releases

- Support for Sensor Actuator Software Components so engineers can use Simulink for more of the system development

- Simplified management of AUTOSAR artifacts by exporting a single AUTOSAR ARXML file

- New interface for AUTOSAR configuration and mapping to Simulink, improving usability with large and complex models

- Enhanced SWC import, including internal behavior, UUIDs and ARXML packages providing for round-trip workflows between Simulink and AUTOSAR System Authoring Tools

- Support for Mode Switch and Operation Invoked Events including access to Sender/Receiver ports within the Server Operations

- ISO 26262 tool qualification support (requires IEC Certification Kit) enabling the use of advanced AUTOSAR capabilities for high-integrity automotive applications

The AUTOSAR Target Production Package is available immediately. For more information on MathWorks support for AUTOSAR, visit:

http://www.mathworks.in/automotive/standards/autosar.html.

Beijing Normal University School of Mathematical Sciences Adopts MATLAB

MATLAB Supports Teaching Curriculum and Student Teams in National Mathematical Modeling Contest.

MathWorks today announced that Beijing Normal University (BNU) College of Mathematical Sciences has adopted the MATLAB product family for its course curriculum. BNU was recently cited in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings as being among the world’s premier educational institutions. BNU’s College of Mathematical Sciences is China’s first math school to provide faculty, staff, and students with school-wide access to the MATLAB product family.

The school-wide license includes MATLAB plus 20 additional products for parallel computing, test and measurement, data analysis, signal and image processing, symbolic math, and optimization. To support the adoption of MATLAB in the curriculum, the BNU faculty has developed a range of courses that incorporate MATLAB, including Math Modeling, Wavelet Analysis, and Image Processing with Computers. The math modeling course, for example, teaches students to solve practical problems using mathematical models and MATLAB.

“As part of our mission to deliver an internationally reputable mathematical program, we seek to include current technologies and industry best practices in our curriculum,” said Dean Bao Jiguang, BNU. “MATLAB based courses combined with easy access to MATLAB will strengthen our students’ abilities to solve real-world problems. Our curriculum will ensure our students are well-prepared in these tools upon graduation.”

The school-wide adoption of MATLAB also supports BNU’s participation in the Contemporary Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling (CUMCM), a national mathematical challenge held annually. CUMCM engages students in the study of mathematics as they solve problems and experiments with mathematical modeling. BNU is part of CUMCM’s organizing committee and sends 40 teams to the national competition. All BNU teams use MATLAB to improve their practical knowledge of mathematics, mathematical modeling, and math software used by mathematicians in academia and industry. Two BNU teams placed second nationally in 2010.

“Today’s job market in mathematics and engineering is highly competitive, and employers seek out job candidates who understand how to problem-solve using mathematical modeling tools and approaches,” said Jim Tung, MathWorks Fellow. “By adopting MATLAB into its curriculum and providing school-wide access to the MATLAB product family, BNU is empowering students with a significant advantage as they enter the job market after graduation.”

MathWorks to Host second annual MathWorks India User Conference

One-day conference to bring together MATLAB and Simulink users across industries.

MathWorks, the world’s leading developer of software for technical computing and Model-Based Design, will host the second annual MathWorks India User Conference.

Continuing on the lines of the successful inaugural User Conference hosted by MathWorks India in 2010, the second annual MathWorks India User Conference will offer a full day of insightful presentations and demonstrations relevant to engineers, scientists and managers at any level of proficiency from across the industrial spectrum. Sessions will be presented by MathWorks technical experts as well as customers of MathWorks India.

Richard Rovner, vice president of marketing, MathWorks, will deliver the keynote address entitled, “Driving Innovation and Efficiency with Model-Based Design.” This talk will highlight recent applications of Model-Based Design, expose the critical underlying technologies based on MATLAB and Simulink, overview new product enhancements from MathWorks, and touch on the extension of Model-Based Design into academia, ensuring the growth of the next generation of engineers and scientists.

In addition, a MathWorks India customer will deliver a keynote address at the conference.

For the detailed agenda, visit http://www.mathworks.in/company/events/conferences/user-conference-india/index.html.

WHEN: Thursday, 20 October, 2011

WHERE: ITC Gardenia
No. 1, Residency Road
(Next to Mallya Hospital)
Bengaluru – 560 025
India

Thien eDrives Cuts Electric Motor Controller Development Time in Half with Model-Based Design

MathWorks Code Generation Tools for TI's C2000 MCU Speed Progress from First Prototype to Final Series.

MathWorks today announced that Thien eDrives (formerly ATB Technologies), a developer of electrical drive systems, used MATLAB and Simulink to model, simulate, and implement an electric motor control system on TI’s C2000 microcontroller unit (MCU). By applying Model-Based Design, Thien eDrives moved rapidly from the first prototype to the final series, reducing development time by 50%.

To develop an electric drive for a fuel cell vehicle compressor unit, including the motor control software, electronics, motor, and other mechanical components, Thien eDrives needed a design approach that enabled early verification of control strategies, code generation, and rapid design iterations throughout the project. Model-Based Design allowed for verification at multiple stages of development, helping produce a high-quality component within a shortened timeframe. Automatic code generation eliminated the time-consuming and error-prone hand-coding process while providing added confidence of compliance with certain MISRA C standards. Using models also simplified design reviews with Thien eDrives customers by eliminating the need for code review-driven processes.

“On past projects, we simulated and verified our designs in Simulink,” says Georg Staffler, development engineer at Thien eDrives. “For this project, we adopted automatic code generation, which enabled us to complete the compressor project twice as fast as a similar project that applied Model-Based Design with hand coding. Code generation resulted in fewer bugs, better quality, and faster iterations, and it enabled a modular approach that facilitated model reuse across projects.”

“Electric drive projects are becoming more complex as they require the many components within a system to work together for maximum performance and efficiency,” says Jon Friedman, automotive industry marketing manager at MathWorks. “Model-Based Design offers a workflow that enables engineers to work on the design at both the component level and the overall application level. Thien eDrives showcases how this design approach brings efficiencies and advantages to every stage of the development process.”

In addition to MATLAB and Simulink, the team used other tools, including Simulink Coder, Embedded Coder, Stateflow, Signal Processing Toolbox, and Simulink Fixed Point. Model-Based Design enabled Thien eDrives to deliver the compressor motor on schedule, and the motor is currently produced and embedded in fuel cell cars on the road today.

Simulink Code Inspector Strengthens MathWorks Support for DO-178 Certification

New Product Automates Reviews of Source Code Generated from Simulink.

MathWorks today introduced Simulink Code Inspector, which facilitates the review of source code generated from Simulink models. Aerospace engineers can now use Simulink Code Inspector to create detailed model-to-code and code-to-model inspection reports that help satisfy source code verification and traceability objectives specified in DO-178B Table A-5.

Traditionally, verifying code against requirements is a time-consuming and error-prone process that requires manually reviewing code line-by-line against a project checklist. Simulink Code Inspector uses an automated process to verify the generated code’s structure against its model. This process checks for structural equivalency by systematically comparing the blocks, parameters, and settings used in a model against the operations, operators, and data in the generated code.

Simulink Code Inspector also produces verification and traceability reports that can be reviewed, archived, and shared with certification authorities, dramatically reducing verification time and cost. With Simulink Code Inspector, engineers prepare models for code inspection by using a specific subset of Simulink blocks and model parameters commonly used for high-integrity systems. They can then generate and inspect code from the models, and review the inspection and traceability reports.

The combination of Simulink for system design and simulation, Embedded Coder for flight code generation, and Simulink Code Inspector for source code review provides aerospace engineers with a highly automated and flexible environment for Model-Based Design and DO-178 development and verification.

“Aerospace engineers who work on high-integrity systems are under constant pressure to not just meet the stringent requirements of the systems they design, but also keep pace with industry demands for increased development speed and quality,” said Jon Friedman, aerospace and defense industry manager, MathWorks. “With Model-Based Design already established as a design workflow, these engineers have been extending their use of MathWorks tools for projects and large programs requiring certification. Simulink Code Inspector enables engineers to take another step toward reducing certification bottlenecks and streamlining the certification process.”
Pricing and Availability

Simulink Code Inspector is available immediately. U.S. list prices start at $11,000. For further information, please visit the product Web site at www.mathworks.com/products/simulink-code-inspector/.

Faraday Accelerates the Development of SoCs with Model-Based Design

MATLAB and Simulink Help Speed Simulations by More Than 200 Times, Reduce Gate Count by More Than 50%.

MathWorks today announced that Faraday Technology Corporation, a leading fabless ASIC and SIP provider, used Model-Based Design to accelerate the development of SoCs, including development of its NAND Flash Controller error correcting code (ECC) engine. MATLAB and Simulink products have helped Faraday accelerate development of more efficient designs by completing system-level simulations 200 times faster, increasing throughput performance by 15%, and cutting gate count by up to 57%.

Faraday is positioned to capitalize on new business opportunities as more integrated circuit manufacturers seek advanced SoC designs. To meet this demand, Faraday established a faster and more cost-efficient workflow to develop memory controllers for microprocessor subsystems. Faraday adopted Model-Based Design to accelerate SIP development, explore system-level design alternatives, and improve communication among engineers. This design approach has helped reduce gate count, and shorten the development cycle for memory controllers and other modules, and, as a result, differentiate itself through lower cost to its customers.

“Model-Based Design provided an efficient and cost-effective way to improve silicon intellectual property development by enabling us to rapidly identify the best design configurations and get products to market faster,” said Ken Chen, ESL Methodology Manager at Faraday. “The Simulink environment is ideal for integrating, simulating, and exploring design architectures. The simulations are up to 200 times faster than RTL simulations, and Simulink models can be easily converted to HDL code for FPGA prototyping.”

Faraday engineers used MATLAB, Simulink, and Stateflow to model and simulate their system-level designs, and used Simulink Coder and Simulink HDL Coder to automatically generate code from their models. This workflow enabled Faraday to shorten their design process as they moved from architecture design to hardware and software implementation. Faraday has used Model-Based Design for DDR and flash controller projects and delivered the SIP designs on schedule. The engineering team is now focused on further accelerating development by reusing and adapting their existing models on new projects.

“As integrated circuit manufacturers continue to rely on SIP providers for SoC and ASIC components, SIP engineers need the ability to rapidly deliver designs that meet their customers’ requirements,” said Ken Karnofsky, senior strategist for signal processing applications, MathWorks. “Faraday’s use of MATLAB and Simulink showcases the effective use of Model-Based Design to accelerate development, reduce costs, and simplify the integration of SIP modules into SoC designs.”

More details on Faraday Technology Corporation’s use of MathWorks tools are available in the user story, “Faraday Accelerates SIP Development and Shrinks NAND Flash Controller ECC Engine Gate Count by 57% with Model-Based Design.”

Arizona State University Develops Aerospace Engineering Curriculum Based on MATLAB and Simulink

Helps Motivate Students to Learn and Better Prepares Them for Industry.

MathWorks today announced that Arizona State University (ASU) redesigned the curriculum of its aerospace engineering program to emphasize independent discovery and the use of MATLAB and Simulink for exploring aerodynamics, aircraft stability, and control concepts. As a result, ASU faculty found that student confidence in these fields has increased, final exam scores have improved by 18%, and fewer demands have been placed on lab resources.

Traditional teaching practices often emphasize classical methods, mostly based on the derivation and analysis of symbolic linear models. ASU revamped two core aerospace engineering courses to emphasize the discovery of critical concepts through solving real-world problems. The university also provided campus-wide access to MATLAB and Simulink for students and faculty, which enabled broader, more convenient access to the tools and eliminated time constraints associated with having to work in a computer lab.

“MATLAB is ideal because it not only provides a simple framework to integrate various third-party software applications such as CFD and flight simulators, but also allows users to execute them in a familiar environment,” said Dr. Praveen Shankar, lecturer of Aerospace Engineering at ASU’s School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy. “In the aerospace industry, engineers use computational methods and simulation for design and analysis. One of our goals was to incorporate more computational work to prepare our students. Secondly, rather than focus on deriving theories on paper, we wanted to implement pedagogical methods that would enable the understanding of theory through simulation and visualization”

Following the implementation of the new curriculum, ASU compared student performance in the old and new courses. Students in Aircraft Dynamics and Control, a new course that incorporated MATLAB and Simulink more deeply, had a mean score of 79, outperforming the mean of 67 in the old course. Additionally, ASU found that the new courses improved the confidence of the students to achieve their course objectives.

“ASU’s real-world approach to its curriculum ensures that its graduates will be well prepared and highly employable,” said Tom Gaudette, principal academic evangelist at MathWorks. “It’s rewarding to hear that our technology supported the university’s vision and helped them achieve their goal of providing young engineers with the skills they will need in their jobs.”

MathWorks Announces Release of Simulink Design Verifier 2.0

Offers New Capabilities for Automatic Error Detection in Simulink Models.

MathWorks today announced that Simulink Design Verifier now includes Polyspace analysis technology for automated error detection in Simulink models. Simulink Design Verifier 2.0 integrates Polyspace error detection with existing property proving and test generation capabilities to help reduce the time required to find and fix the root cause of design errors, decreasing the overall cost of verification and validation.

Engineers across the aerospace, automotive, medical, and industrial automation and machinery industries can now apply Model-Based Design with formal analysis methods provided by Simulink Design Verifier 2.0 to identify design errors in Simulink and Stateflow models without extensive testing or simulation.

Key product features include:

Detection of dead logic, integer and fixed-point overflows, division by zero, and assertion violation
Blocks and functions for modeling functional and safety requirements
Test vector generation from functional requirements and model coverage objectives
Property proving, with generation of violation examples for analysis and debugging
Fixed-point and floating-point model support

For a video demo overview of Simulink Design Verifier and the new capabilities, please visit mathworks.com/products/sldesignverifier.

MathWorks Extends FPGA Support For Model-Based Design to xPC Target

xPC Target Turnkey Systems Now Offer FPGA Programming Capability.

MathWorks today announced the availability of xPC Target 5.0, which provides support for FPGAs, extending the rapid prototyping workflow for Model-Based Design. Now engineers can leverage automatically generated HDL to program FPGA boards from Simulink models for execution on xPC Target Turnkey systems. As a result, they can prototype and validate their Simulink designs in a high-performance, real-time target system and speed up their development cycle.

With xPC Target, computationally intensive algorithms can now run on FPGA boards that provide speed and flexibility. Control systems engineers can program FPGA boards for xPC Target Turnkey systems using code generated by Simulink HDL Coder, accelerating designs to meet higher performance requirements. The new capability offers the ability to reconfigure digital input/output (I/O) modules and to implement high speed algorithms for controls or signal processing within real-time testing and prototyping environments.

In addition to FPGA support, other key new product features include:

Task-level profiling of execution times to help with load balancing
Support for cameras based on the Camera Link interface standard
Image acquisition from USB webcams
Ability to send and receive UDP packets in real time

Pricing and Availability

xPC Target is available immediately. U.S. list prices start at $4,000. For further information on the product and xPC Target Turnkey systems, visit the product Web site at mathworks.com/products/xpctarget.

Toyota and DENSO Transition Mass Production Engineering To MathWorks R2010b Release

Successful Transition Program Reinforces Commitment to MathWorks Tools for Model-Based Design and Fixed-Point Automotive Production Programs.

MathWorks today announced that Toyota and DENSO CORPORATION, Toyota’s primary automotive electronics supplier, have chosen to transition their automotive mass-production programs to the MathWorks R2010b release. This release of the MATLAB and Simulink product families includes efficiency enhancements to ROM and RAM code generation for fixed-point automotive control systems that reduce mass-production costs.

The transition builds on the shared commitment of Toyota and DENSO to Model-Based Design, which incorporates technology for automatic embedded code generation. Both companies use MathWorks modeling, simulation, and code-generation products in their production software development programs for mass-production software. Adopting R2010b enables Toyota and DENSO engineers to apply Model-Based Design in current and future production vehicle programs and to use automatically generated, fixed-point production C code for complex, real-time embedded systems.

“The joint development efforts with MathWorks that began in 2003 have matured significantly over the last eight years,” said Shigeru Kuroyanagi, General Manager, Automotive Software Engineering Division, Toyota. “MathWorks continues to make advancements towards our quality-cost-delivery (QCD) initiative requirements. Their R12.1 release satisfied delivery of toolset capability and support, R2006b provided sufficient quality for production use, and the latest version, R2010b, delivers cost reduction. By using R2010b as a third-generation toolset, we can apply R2010b’s enhanced code-generation efficiency for fixed-point ECUs to deliver cost reduction for mass-production. We also expect a significant reduction in development costs through the increased use of automatic code generation for fixed-point ECUs.”

Over the last three years, MathWorks has worked closely with Toyota and DENSO to provide the advanced capabilities required in Simulink, Stateflow, and Embedded Coder for powertrain production programs. Additionally, DENSO developed comprehensive modeling guidelines, supplemental tools, and materials to prepare Toyota and DENSO engineers for moving their production work from R2006b to R2010b.

“Toyota and DENSO’s commitment to Model-Based Design shows how MathWorks software continues to be used by the automotive industry around the world for product design and development,” said Andy Grace, vice president of engineering for design automation at MathWorks. “We have been building our close relationship with Toyota and DENSO for more than 15 years as part of a collaborative effort to develop the engineering tools required by the automotive industry, with the last 8 years focused on meeting specific needs for production use at Toyota and DENSO. We are pleased that our efforts to create high-quality software for mass-production usage have been recognized by Toyota and DENSO.”

MathWorks HDL Tools add Xilinx FPGA Hardware Verification

MathWorks today announced the availability of EDA Simulator Link 3.3 with new FPGA-in-the-loop (FIL) capabilities for Xilinx FPGA development boards. FIL enables engineers to verify their designs at hardware speeds while using Simulink as a system-level test bench.

The introduction of FIL adds to the comprehensive set of HDL verification options that EDA Simulator Link supports for algorithms created in MATLAB and Simulink. FPGA-based verification provides significantly higher run-time performance than is possible with HDL simulators and increases confidence that the algorithm will work in the real world.

Key product features include the abilities to:

Verify HDL implementations of MATLAB code and Simulink models using FPGA development boards for both Spartan and Virtex class devices including the Virtex-6 ML605 development board.
Verify HDL implementations of MATLAB code and Simulink models using cosimulation with Mentor Graphics ModelSim, Mentor Graphics Questa, and Cadence Design Systems Incisive Enterprise Simulator
Generate TLM 2.0 components for use in SystemC virtual prototyping environments

Pricing and Availability

EDA Simulator Link is available immediately. U.S. list prices start at $2000.

MathWorks Strengthens Physical Modeling Capabilities with Enhancements to SimDriveline

Simplifies integration of multiple physical domains into drivetrain models.

MathWorks today announced a new version of SimDriveline that helps simplify the integration of other physical domains into drivetrain models, including thermal losses in geartrains, electrical solenoids, and hydraulically actuated clutches. SimDriveline, based on MathWorks Simscape technology, helps engineers model and simulate mechanical systems in Simulink for a variety of automotive, aerospace, defense, and industrial applications.

With SimDriveline software, teams can model simple and complex systems in one environment more easily than with signal-based or input/output-based methods. Enhancements to SimDriveline include gear loss models that capture meshing and viscous losses for efficiency studies, and more accurate and efficient simulation for systems involving multiple, simultaneous clutch events.

SimDriveline is based on Simscape technology, so that teams can connect directly to other physical modeling libraries and leverage other simulation capabilities, such as data logging and Simscape local solvers. Using these libraries and capabilities helps engineers spend more time refining their designs and less time setting up models and tests.

“One of the advantages of Simscape physical modeling products is that they allow engineers to focus more on innovation and less on programming,” said Mattia Gallucci, Design Analysis Engineer, at Airbus. “With SimDriveline, I can quickly build up a model of the powertrain that looks just like a diagram of the system. The components are easy to parameterize and configure, and simulations run fast. SimDriveline has allowed us to model and integrate different systems, making it easier for our design teams to determine the requirements for powertrain systems.”

“It is critical for engineers working toward an optimized design to model their software algorithms and physical system together in a single environment and to detect integration issues as early as possible,” said Paul Barnard, marketing director of design automation at MathWorks. “MathWorks physical modeling tools help support engineers through every stage of Model-Based Design, bringing accuracy and efficiency to the workflow.”

MathWorks Partners with EcoCAR 2 to Develop the Next Generation of Engineers

Support of Student Engineering Competition Delivers Mentors and Industry-Standard MATLAB and Simulink to Competing Teams for Project-Based Learning.

NATICK, Mass. - MathWorks today announced its support of EcoCAR 2, a three-year competition that enables engineering students to design and build eco-friendly vehicles using cutting-edge automotive technologies. Throughout the competition, college and university students will gain practical experience using the technologies employed by today’s leading automotive companies.

MathWorks broad support of EcoCAR 2 will include equipping all 16 participating university teams with its tools for Model-Based Design, including MATLAB and Simulink. In addition, a team of technical mentors will work closely with students and faculty over the course of the challenge.

Established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors (GM), EcoCAR 2 delivers a real-world design experience to engineering students. The competition challenges 16 universities across North America to reduce the environmental impact of a Chevrolet Malibu without compromising its performance, safety, and consumer acceptability. Students are required to follow a real-world engineering regimen modeled after GM’s Global Vehicle Development Process (GVDP). As part of the program, participants will use MathWorks tools for Model-Based Design to create, model, and simulate their vehicle architecture.

“MathWorks has been a part of the DOE’s advanced vehicle technology competitions for more than 10 years,” said Paul Smith, director of consulting services at MathWorks and lead EcoCAR 2 mentor. “These competitions bridge classroom theory with hands-on learning of industry practices and technologies. We believe this approach with EcoCAR 2 will help develop future automotive engineers and encourage innovations in engineering design across all industries. It’s an incredible experience to be a part of, and we’re looking forward to the next three years!”

GAS NATURAL FENOSA Produces Forecasts for the Electrical Market Using MATLAB

MATLAB used to develop models that enable optimized generation of asset portfolios and reduction of response times from months to weeks.

NATICK, Mass. - MathWorks today announced that GAS NATURAL FENOSA used MATLAB products to develop models that enable the company to project capacity and demand and optimize generation of asset portfolios. In particular, the company develops optimization and forecasting models that incorporate historical usage patterns, weather forecasts, production costs and regulatory constraints, and other operational factors. As a result, GAS NATURAL FENOSA has doubled staff productivity and can adapt more quickly to regulatory changes, reducing its response time from months to one or two weeks.

GAS NATURAL FENOSA engineers used MATLAB to develop a set of core models that analyze available data, forecast results, and optimize generation plans. Each MATLAB model accesses a central database for historical power consumption and price data, weather forecasts, and parameters for each power plant. Optimization Toolbox was applied to minimize production cost among several plants given a set of constraints, including carbon caps and maximum capacity. The engineers used Statistics Toolbox to develop and assess price simulation scenarios.

Using MATLAB Compiler, the team created standalone programs from each model that run automatically day and night, enabling the developers to more easily manage updates to the models and access to the models for a variety of end users providing improved management of updates and control of access to models. The team also used Simulink to model the behavior of generators in the GAS NATURAL FENOSA infrastructure.

“Our market changes very quickly, so we need to know how to promptly respond to changes in regulatory standards or in the structure of the electricity industry, as well as to other factors, such as increased production of renewable energy,” said Isaac Pérez, head of the Iberian Electricity Markets Technical Office. “We tried using a commercial software package without development and customization capabilities, but it did not address the numerous problems we needed to solve. In our circumstances, closed systems don’t work well. We needed an open platform that would enable us to develop our own algorithms and computations.”

“A company like GAS NATURAL FENOSA, with a generating capacity in Spain of over 15,000 megawatts and a portfolio of assets including a variety of generating technologies, needs to accurately predict the different variables affecting each of the markets where it operates,” said Juan Nasarre, managing director of MathWorks for Spain and Portugal. “MathWorks tools enable GAS NATURAL FENOSA to detect better business opportunities, reduce generating costs, and therefore improve its sales margin.”

MathWorks Introduces Automatic C Code Generation Directly from MATLAB Language

MATLAB Coder Eliminates Manual Recoding in the Algorithm-to-Implementation Workflow.

MathWorks today announced the availability of MATLAB Coder, which enables design engineers to automatically generate readable, portable C and C++ code directly from their MATLAB algorithms. This new product eliminates the need to manually translate MATLAB algorithm code into C and C++ code for prototyping, implementation, and software integration. This automation results in a faster, more efficient system-development workflow.

The design of algorithm-intensive electronic and communications systems typically begins with MATLAB. The MATLAB algorithms eventually need to be converted into C code for integration into the final product. Manually converting from MATLAB to C can take from days to weeks, introduce design errors, and contribute to time-to-market delays. Now design engineers can use MATLAB to speed up development tasks, such as fixed-point design and prototyping, and then automatically generate C code with MATLAB Coder.

MATLAB Coder supports an extensive set of MATLAB language features for algorithm development, including built-in matrix math operators and dynamic array handling. Hundreds of operators, functions, and System objects are supported, including many advanced algorithms for DSP and communications.

Along with the introduction of MATLAB Coder, MathWorks released Simulink Coder and Embedded Coder. These two new products simplify code generation for Simulink and Stateflow users by combining capabilities previously available in multiple MathWorks offerings. The new products incorporate the industry-proven Real-Time Workshop technology, and offer full code generation support for rapid prototyping, real-time testing, and production embedded system implementation with built-in links to embedded development environments.

“Automatic C code generation from Simulink has transformed embedded system development in many organizations for more than a decade,” said Ken Karnofsky, senior strategist at MathWorks. “Now, MATLAB Coder brings those productivity gains to engineers who use MATLAB to develop algorithms for electronic and embedded systems. With MATLAB Coder, Simulink Coder, and Embedded Coder, MathWorks offers a simple and more comprehensive code generation offering for all of its customers.”

Pricing and Availability

MATLAB Coder is available immediately. U.S. list prices start at $6,500. For more information on the features and specifications of MATLAB Coder, Simulink Coder, and Embedded Coder, see http://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab-coder/

MathWorks Announces Release 2011a of the MATLAB and Simulink Product Families

MathWorks today announced Release 2011a (R2011a) of its MATLAB and Simulink product families. Key in this release is the introduction of a new generation of code generation products, MATLAB Coder, Simulink Coder, and Embedded Coder. R2011a also updates 80 other products, including Polyspace embedded software verification products.

For MATLAB, R2011a highlights include:

Improved performance for many linear algebra functions in MATLAB
Large-scale interior-point solver for quadratic programming in Optimization Toolbox
Utilization of up to 8 local workers by MATLAB Compiler generated applications and components using Parallel Computing Toolbox
Object-oriented portfolio optimization solver with turnover and transaction costs in Financial Toolbox
Engle-Granger and Johansen cointegration tests and VEC parameter estimation in Econometrics Toolbox

R2011a also launches new System toolboxes for MATLAB and Simulink:

DSP System Toolbox, which combines features of Signal Processing Blockset and Filter Design Toolbox
Communications System Toolbox, which combines features of Communications Toolbox and Communications Blockset
Computer Vision System Toolbox, which incorporates the functionality of Video and Image Processing Blockset and adds new computer vision algorithms
Phased Array System Toolbox, which provides algorithms and tools for designing, simulating, and analyzing phased array signal processing systems

R2011a highlights for Simulink include:

Signal Logging Selector to compare simulation results across models and runs in Simulink
Merge capability for Simulink models from the XML text comparison in Simulink Report Generator
FPGA-in-the loop, customizable I/O, and board support for Xilinx devices in Simulink HDL Coder, EDA Simulator Link, and xPC Target
Custom component authoring using the Simscape language in SimDriveline
Automatic detection of overflow and divide-by-zero design errors using Polyspace technology in Simulink Design Verifier

R2011a, the eleventh consecutive six-month release from MathWorks, is available immediately and is being provided to users worldwide with current subscriptions to MathWorks Software Maintenance Service for immediate installation.