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Create a Realistic Dashboard Using the Circular Gauge Block

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You can use the Circular Gauge block to create a dashboard of controls and indicators for your model that looks how it would in a real system. This example model uses four Circular Gauge blocks and a MultiStateImage block to create a dashboard for the sf_car model like one you might see in a real car.

Explore the Model

To understand the connections between the Dashboard subsystem and the model, you can select each block and jump to the signal it displays in the model. To jump to the connected signal, first select a block. For example, select the speedometer gauge on the left. Select the Gauge tab that appears in the toolstrip and then select Show Connection. The model navigates to where the connected signal exists and briefly highlights the signal.

The Circular Gauge block on the left displays the vehicle speed signal, acting as a speedometer on the dashboard. The block uses the default Circular Gauge appearance and a value arc you can see when you simulate the model.

The Circular Gauge blocks at the top of the model display the throttle and brake signals. You can create this type of gauge by deleting the background image and needle image from the default Circular Gauge. Then, adjust the scale arc and select colors for the tick marks, scale, and value arc.

The Circular Gauge block on the right displays the engine RPM signal on a custom gauge face. You can create a gauge like this by deleting the background image in the default Circular Gauge and uploading your own.

The MultiStateImage block on the bottom displays the gear signal using seven segment display style number images that correspond to the value of the gear signal.

Monitor System During Simulation

You can use the dashboard to monitor the system response during simulation. The User Inputs block includes several simulation inputs to model different vehicle maneuvers. To change the simulation input, navigate to the top level of the model and open User Inputs. You can use the drop-down menu to choose the vehicle action for the model to simulate. Choose between a passing maneuver, gradual acceleration, hard braking, and coasting. To monitor the system response during simulation, navigate back to the Dashboard subsystem and press the play button to simulate the model.