2Infinity Control Solutions
MATLAB EXPO 2019Creating an embedded product with
a very small development team
Neil RutlandPrincipal Consultant
Brendan JoinerSenior Control Applications Engineer
30 May 2019
2Infinity Control Solutions
Overview
• Personal experience creating embedded products
• MATLAB and Simulink experience
• What next?
– Design embedded products that seem simple because they
just work
– Sophisticated algorithms under the hood
– With a small team…
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2Infinity Control Solutions
Past - Embedded products
• Control of vibration in flexible rotors
– Using Active Magnetic Bearings
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Past - Embedded products
• Submarine autopilots
• Real-time simulator
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Past - Embedded products
• MBDA Meteor Air-to-Air missile
– G&C lead autopilot & homing guidance
– Large teams
– Model based design and auto-code generation
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Past - Embedded products
• Auto-steering agricultural vehicles
– Model based design
– Medium size team
– No auto-code generation
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Past - MATLAB & Simulink
• Numerical analysis and plotting data
• FEM flexible rotor
• Control system design
• Requirements specification
• Vehicle modelling
– Underwater, air and on ground
• Actuator modelling
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Past - MATLAB & Simulink
• Hydraulic modelling
• Sensor modelling, e.g., IMUs, seekers, GNSS
• Trials analysis
• GUIs visualising system performance
• Symbolic calculations
• Timesheets…anything and everything
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Past – MATLAB & Simulink
• Meteor project
– Modelling – auto-code generation for Simulink models
into Development Model (DM)
– G&C – algorithm design plus Algorithm Development
Model (ADM)
– G&C specified algorithms using STATEMATE by I-Logix
• Auto-coded into DM
• Duplicating algorithms running in ADM
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Past – MATLAB & Simulink
• Next MBDA project
– See MATLAB EXPO 2015
• Accelerating FASGW(H) / ANL Image Processing with Model-
Based Design
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Now – small team
• MATLAB & Simulink established and mature tool for
developing algorithms in embedded products
• Previously had multiple large teams
– 10’s G&C, Modelling and Software engineers to develop a
product
• Now one small team can do the same
– Using MathWorks tools…
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Now – small team
• Another view is allowing development
without Systems Engineering
– Why do we use Systems Engineering?
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Now – small team
• Simulator Mk1
– Simulink Desktop Real-Time
– Simulink Coder
– Vehicle Network Toolbox
– Running in Windows 10 with USB adapters
• Mk2 ported to ARM embedded platform
– Embedded Coder
– Initially M3 and now using M7
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Now – small team
• Simulator used for HWIL development of RotoMate
product
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Now – small team
• Return On Investment (ROI) – Country Maths
– Annual cost for The MathWorks tools $12K AUD
• MATLAB & Simulink
• MATLAB Coder, Simulink Coder and Embedded Coder
– Use existing target with GNU Tools
– Development effort for drivers, e.g. CAN, LED, USB
– One s/w engineer $70-120K AUD depending on experience
– ROI = $(70K+120K)/2 - $20K - $12K = $63K per year
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S/w engineer Driver
dev
MathWorks
tools
2Infinity Control Solutions
Future directions
• Develop algorithms using MathWorks tools
– Sell in embedded products
– Sell software modules/libraries for customers to use in their
products
– Keep the team small using the right tools
– Focus on the algorithms
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THE END
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