1© 2015 The MathWorks, Inc.

Using MATLAB and Simulink for Robot Simulation and Implementation

Yanliang Zhang (Ph.D.)Robotics Product and Industry ManagerYanliang.Zhang@mathworks.com

RoboUniverse, 5/11/2015

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Tesla Roadster: Whole Car Simulated using Simulink

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Orion SpacecraftSuccessful first flight (unmanned) Dec. 5, 2014

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Thought‐controlled prosthetics

5#1 (tied) Drone Formation Flying – University of Sydney

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Smart Emergency Response System

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Move from Simulation to Implementation?

Hand convert to C/C++ node?

Simulation Implementation

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Demos…

1. Airplane Wing Landing Gear Control

2. Design and Test Robotics Algorithms Robots or Simulators with MATLAB

3. Design and Test Robotics Algorithms Robots or Simulators with Simulink

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Demo1 Overview: Airplane Wing Landing Gear Control

Switch to Demo

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Demo 2 Overview: Design and Test Robotics Algorithms

Prototype algorithms

(e.g., Path Planning) in MATLAB

Test algorithms with ROS-enabled Simulators such

as Gazebo

Test algorithms on a Robot

andanalyze the

performance with rosbag

Switch to Demo

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Demo 2: Design and Test Robotics Algorithms

• Prototype a path-planning algorithm in MATLAB

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Demo 2: Design and Test Robotics Algorithms

• Test it with Gazebo through MATLAB-ROS Interface

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Demo 2: Design and Test Robotics Algorithms

• Test it with a physical robot running ROS

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Demo 2: Design and Test Robotics Algorithms

• Analyze the performance by reading rosbag files

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Demo 3 Overview: Generate a ROS Node from a Simulink Model

Prototype algorithms

(e.g., Collision Avoidance) in Simulink

Test algorithms with a ROS-

enabled Simulator or Robot

Generate a standalone ROS node from the

Simulink Model

Switch to Demo

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Demo 3: Generate a ROS Node from a Simulink Model• Connect Simulink Model to a ROS network to simulate a Collision

Avoidance algorithm

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Demo 3: Generate a ROS Node from a Simulink Models

• Convert Simulink model to C++ code for a standalone ROS node

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Demo 3: Generate a ROS Node from a Simulink Model

• Verify the generated ROS node

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Key Features of Robotics System Toolbox (v1.0)

• MATLAB-ROS Interface

• Simulink-ROS Interface

• Robotics Algorithms

• Comprehensive Demos

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Key Takeaways

Robot simulation is important

Moving from simulation to implementation is easy, especially if you use MATLAB/Simulink

MathWorks new launched Robotics System Toolboxhas seamless integration between MATLAB/Simulink and ROS and Gazebo

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Thank You…

Yanliang Zhang (Ph.D.)Robotics Product and Industry ManagerYanliang.Zhang@mathworks.com