VisSim

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VisSim/Altair Embed

Developer		Visual Solutions / Altair
First appeared	1989
Stable release	Embed 2016 / January 2016
AVS (Advanced Visualization System)

VisSim is a visual block diagram program for the simulation of dynamical systems and model-based design of embedded systems, with its own visual language. It is developed by Visual Solutions of Westford, Massachusetts. Visual Solutions was acquired by Altair in August 2014 and its products have been rebranded as Altair Embed as a part of Altair's Model Based Development Suite. With Embed, virtual prototypes of dynamic systems can be developed. Models are built by sliding blocks into the work area and wiring them together with the mouse. Embed automatically converts the control diagrams into C-code ready to be downloaded to the target hardware.

VisSim (now Altair Embed) uses a graphical data flow paradigm to implement dynamic systems, based on differential equations. Version 8 adds interactive UML OMG 2 compliant state chart graphs that are placed in VisSim diagrams, which allows the modeling of state based systems such as startup sequencing of process plants or serial protocol decoding.

Applications

VisSim/Altair Embed is used in control system design and digital signal processing for multidomain simulation and design.^[1] It includes blocks for arithmetic, Boolean, and transcendental functions, as well as digital filters, transfer functions, numerical integration and interactive plotting.^[2] The most commonly modeled systems are aeronautical, biological/medical, digital power, electric motor, electrical, hydraulic, mechanical, process, thermal/HVAC and econometric.^[1]

Distributing VisSim models

A read-only version of the software, VisSim Viewer, is available free of charge and provides a way for people who do not own a license to use VisSim to run VisSim models.^[3] This program is intended to allow models to be more widely shared while preserving the model in its published form.^[3] The viewer can execute any VisSim model, and only changes to block and simulation parameters to illustrate different design scenarios, are allowed. Sliders and buttons may be activated if included in the model.

Code generation

The "VisSim/C-Code" add-on generates

150 MHz F28335.

Use of model-based development

The technique of simulating system performance off-line, and then generating code from the simulation is known as "model-based development". Model-based development for embedded systems is becoming widely adopted for production systems because it shortens development cycles for hardware development in the same way that Model-driven architecture shortens production cycles for software development.^[6]

Model building is a visual way of describing a situation. In an engineering context, instead of writing and solving a system of equations, model building involves using visual "blocks" to solve the problem. The advantage of using models is that in some cases problems which appear difficult if expressed mathematically may be easier to understand when represented pictorially.

VisSim uses a hierarchical composition to create nested block diagrams. A typical model would consist of "virtual plants" composed of various VisSim "layers", combined if necessary with custom blocks written in C or FORTRAN. A virtual controller can be added and tuned to give desired overall system response.

for operator training or controller tuning.

Although VisSim was originally designed for use by

, it can be used for any type of mathematical model.

Optional features

Screenshots show the simulation of a sine function in VisSim. Noise is added to the model, then filtered out using a Butterworth filter . The signal traces of the sine function with noise and filtered noise are first shown together, and then shown in separate windows in the plot block.

This video size: 50% (320x240 pixels)

Other size: 100% (640x480 pixels)

• CAN bus packet read and write
• Communication system
  Eye Diagram, Viterbi algorithm, Reed–Solomon
  , etc.)
• C code generation - Generates executable C code directly from the block diagram
• Brushless DC, and Stepper motors
• Embedded system targeting for Texas Instruments
  GPIO
  .
• Fixed-point arithmetic blockset for bit-true simulation and code generation
• Frequency domain analysis (
  Nyquist plot
  )
• Global optimization of system parameters
• Neural networks
• OPC (
  OLE for process control) client gives read and write of OPC tags for real-time simulation of SCADA
  /HMI virtual plants
• Real-time analog signal and digital I/O under Windows
• Serial (RS-232/RS-485) serial data read and write. Allows real-time reading and writing of serial data from the VisSim diagram. It supports pattern matching, string based transmit, and simulated data streams.
• User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packet read and write. Allows real-time reading and writing of Ethernet-based UDP packets from the VisSim diagram

See also

• Web based simulation
• MATLAB/Simulink
• 20-sim
• Ngspice – Analog circuit simulator software

References

• Texas Instruments MSP430 spotlight article[
  IEEE
  magazine.
• VisSim web site
• Mechatronics System Design, by Devdas Shetty, Richard A. Kolk, Edition 2, Cengage Learning, 2011,
  ISBN 9781439061985
• C: A Software Engineering Approach, by Peter A Darnell, Philip E Margolis, 3rd edition, 1996,
  ISBN 978-0-387-94675-7

External links

• A Simulation-Aided Introduction with VisSim/Comm Digital Transmission Series: Signals and Communication Technology, Guimaraes, Dayan Adionel, 2010,
  ISBN 978-3-642-01358-4
• Hybrid Intelligent Aircraft Landing Controller and Its Hardware Implementation, by Jih-gau Juang and Bo-Shian Lin in Advances in Natural Computation: Second International Conference, ICNC 2006,
  ISBN 978-3-540-45907-1