Unified framework for rapid prototyping of Linux based real-time controllers with Matlab and Simulink

We propose a systematic solution for real-time software development for safety critical mechatronic systems. The solution is based on Matlab/Simulink toolboxes and off-the-shelf drivers provided by hardware manufacturers, to address software development challenges in the area of PC based automation. In many cases, developers especially control systems designers found themselves immersed in technical difficulties of real-time programming and hardware interfacing. The remote development environment described here is used to develop real-time software based on Linux operating systems. Unlike other solutions that supports only limited interfaces, it demonstrates systematic methodology to develop reusable Simulink blocks for communicating with wide variety of device drivers and services. Some examples are given based on Xenomai realtime Linux. As a case study, the software development for a mobile robot based on this methodology is presented. The models and blocks developed for this study are available to interested developers for download and test.