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

Controlling and Monitoring Operation

Controlling Operation from the Host PC

xPC Target Explorer, built on the xPC Target command-line interface and MATLAB, simplifies system configuration, signal tracing setup, and operation. You can define scopes; add, remove, or exchange signals; and select triggering modes interactively. Host scopes continuously upload the signal traces and display them on the host PC. The xPC Target Explorer also lets you control scopes displayed on the target PC monitor.

Monitoring Operation from the Target PC

A simple user interface runs on the target PC and displays information on the status of the target application while it runs. It also displays signal traces. The highly optimized graphics routines used on the target PC provide dynamic signal tracing and update rates typical of digital oscilloscopes. You can use a simple command-line interface to execute commands for control, signal acquisition, and parameter tuning directly from the target PC.

Controlling the Target Application Through a Web Browser

The xPC Target kernel includes a compact Web browser interface that enables you to fully control the target application, including tuning parameters, viewing signal histories, and configuring target scopes from any computer. MATLAB and Simulink products do not need to be installed on the host computer. During the build process, you can define an access level that enables you to restrict which target application properties can be changed.

Using a standard Web browser, you can connect to and control your target application from any computer. Click on image to see enlarged view.

Programming Custom GUIs

xPC Target includes two extensive application interfacing capabilities: the xPC Target API and the COM API. Both interfaces provide full access to the controls, signals, and parameters of xPC Target for use in developing custom GUIs. You can connect your own GUIs, which can be developed with Visual Basic®, C, C++, Tcl/Tk, Perl/Tk, and other programming tools, using subroutines or COM objects. You can use these interfaces with any xPC Target application, as long as they are running on a computer that can connect to your target system.

A custom user interface, developed using Visual Basic and xPC Target API COM objects, is used to monitor signals during a real-time xPC Target application run. Click on image to see enlarged view.

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