How to transfer (send) data from m-file to the Simulink if they are running at the same time?

Main task: to implement the controller which allows robotArm to play with the ping-pong ball in vertical direction with height 0,6..1,0 m. Implementation is done by dividing the task on two parts: a vision system and a robotArm controller. The vision system identifies the ball and makes prediction of impact of the ball with the paddle. The robotArm controller moves paddle to the calculated point. The vision system is implemented in Matlab script (m-file). The robotArm controller is implemented in Simulink with QuaRC.

At the first I am running the robotArm controller (Simulink) and then the Vision System (m-file). The Simulink file consumes 16% of CPU power and the m-file 40% of CPU.

Question: My question is how can I transfer (send) data from m-file to the Simulink model? I want to send predicted coordinates of the contact of the ball-paddle system with time. So, 4 numbers. What kind of blocks/functions I can use in Simulink? Note, data which I want to send is calculating every cycle, so it is on-line mode (not the precalculated data). The period of sending data is about 0,5..0,8 sec.

[Walter Roberson]

One way is to use sim() to invoke the Simulink model for a limited time step, then have MATLAB change values in the function workspace and then invoke sim() again; Simulink would use the values from the workspace.

[Nikolai Davydov]

It means I have to stop simulation. But my RobotArm should work realy fast and it works in HIL(hardware-in-the loop) mode and stop/start then again stop/start will not work. I need a solution which alloows to send data from a working m-file to a working simulink (real-time, HIL) "on the fly", with period around 0.5-0.8 sec.

[Walter Roberson]

If you have them in different workers, you can use tcp or udp to transmit information between them. Or a MATLAB Function block that accesses a memory mapped file to act as shared memory.

[Nikolai Davydov]

Do you mean a command "memmapfile"? Didn't try it before.

I'll try it. Hope it will work. Thanks a lot. Really fast and a professional advices.

[Walter Roberson]

See also https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/28572-sharedmatrix

[snow John]

Hello sir, is there some more new details for your project after years ago

Did you implement your work by using the matlab for robot control and image processing at the same time ?

Thanks,

-jian

[Walter Roberson]

Looking back, I wonder why I did not suggest re-implementing the vision portion using the vision Simulink blocks, so that everything was inside Simulink?