Using MATLAB-simulink Rtw to Build Real Time Control Applications in User Space with RTAI-LXRT

Abstract

The paper presents a hard real time Linux environment that can be effectively used to design and implement data acquisition and digital control systems, integrating the functionality of the MATLAB/ Simulink/ Real-Time-Workshop suite and RTAI, a freeware hard real time extension for Linux. The development process requires only the ability to use the cited MATLAB suite, almost without any knowledge of C-programming. The resulting software can be run on off the shelf standard personal computers, without requiring overly complex and expensive hardware architectures often associated with specialized real time systems, without any performance loss. Furthermore, by exploiting the RTAI specific LXRT environment, a Linux kernel module allowing to build hard real time applications in user space, there is no need to be involved in any relatively risky kernel module application development. After a brief introduction of the basics for hard real time control in user space and of the design philosophy followed to pursue this project, a few sample applications are presented to demonstrate the ease of use and the performances that can be achieved within the RTAI/LXRT environment.