xPC Target™ 3.4

Product Description

• Introduction and Key Features
• Working with xPC Target
• Communicating Between Host and Target Systems
• Accessing the Target Application
• Controlling and Monitoring Operation
• Interfacing with I/O Devices

Accessing the Target Application

You communicate with the target PC via an object-oriented, MATLAB command-line interface, which you use to pass commands to the target. You can also include the commands in M-files for detailed batch testing. The command-line interface consists of three function groups: target application control, parameter tuning, and signal acquisition (data acquisition). Graphical user interfaces, built upon the command-line interface, can be used on the host or the target PC, or through a standard Internet browser. xPC Target Explorer, the host GUI, enables you to configure, control, and monitor operations of the target system, including access to multiple targets running concurrently.

Controlling the Target Application

The target application control functions let you download target applications onto the target PC, start and stop execution, change stop time and sample time, detect CPU overloads, and query statistics about execution performance and CPU usage.

Tuning Parameters

xPC Target includes functions for tuning model parameters on the target PC. After downloading the target application, you can use the command-line interface to alter parameter values either before execution of the target application or while the target application is running. You can also use Simulink external mode for parameter tuning. In this mode, the Simulink model running on the host computer is used as a GUI. Once you change a parameter in your Simulink model, the new parameter value is downloaded to the target PC.

xPC Target Explorer runs on the host and interactively monitors and controls a real-time xPC Target application run. Click on image to see enlarged view.

Acquiring Signals

You can control and access signal acquisition devices via the xPC Target kernel running on the target computer. You can perform signal logging to acquire signals during the entire execution run of an application. In signal acquisition mode, data is stored in real time in RAM or in the file system on the target PC. Once the execution stops, you can upload acquired data to the host computer. With the various logging options, this mode is suitable for step-response acquisitions.

Signal tracing, an alternative mode of signal acquisition, lets you capture and display bursts of signal data during real-time execution of your model. This behavior is similar to that of a digital oscilloscope.

Defining and Controlling Scopes

Scopes are graphical display components that you define and control. You can define which signals and the number of samples to trace. You can also specify trigger modes and upload the acquired data bursts. You can define multiple scopes, each acquiring different signals and each using different triggering modes. Multiple signals can be displayed within each scope.

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