Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: Adept Scientific | Subject: VisSim/DSP
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 08 October 2003
Software speeds DSP system design
VisSim/DSP is proving popular with developers of DSP-based control and signal-processing systems.
HR Textron is using VisSim/DSP for the rapid prototyping of hydraulic actuator systems that control the transition from helicopter mode to aircraft mode on military aircraft The actuators enable the engine thrust vectoring to be switched between vertical and horizontal directions
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 27 Apr 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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HRT engineers successfully implemented four control loops running simultaneously (including position, velocity, resolvers, and linear variable differential transformers) on a single TI C31 DSP target.
They accomplished this without having to write a single line of C code.
VisSim/DSP helped HR Textron save months of development time on this project.
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The company attributes this primarily to the following features of VisSim/DSP: quality and efficiency of C code; automatic programming of onboard analogue and digital data I/O; and the ability to use VisSim to observe user-defined monitoring points and de-bug the control loops interactively while the algorithm executes on the DSP target.
Engineers at Lidkiping Machine Tools, the world's largest supplier of precision grinding machines, are using VisSim/DSP with a TI C32 target to design their next generation control system that includes closed-loop adaptive filtering and control activation modules.
The adaptive filters act on real-time sensor data and a logic module analyses the filtered data to determine whether the machine/workpiece combination is within specified tolerances.
If a tolerance exception is detected, a high-priority interrupt is generated and transmitted to the machine control system (located on a different hardware target) and the controller then takes corrective action.
Lidkiping Machine Tools engineers had a prototype application running in two days, and were able to generate and download the filter to the DSP target on the third day - all without any prior training or exposure to VisSim/DSP.
Key reasons for their success include the ease of use of VisSim/DSP and advanced functionality such as the power spectral density (PSD) block, FFT and IFFT blocks, filter design wizards and variable-size buffers.
GEC-Marconi is a subcontractor for the European Joint Strike Fighter project responsible for advanced engine controls.
The company is using VisSim/DSP to develop controls for thrust vectoring in a three bearing swivel nozzle using a TI C32 target.
Two actuators, each manipulating one control surface, are controlled using VisSim/DSP to implement the pilot's commands for engine thrust vectoring.
GEC-Marconi engineers noted that VisSim/DSP's ability to model and simulate complex dynamic systems helped them quickly validate the performance of their control system.
Additionally, its ease of use and integration helped them develop prototypes quickly which was critical to the success of the project.
VisSim is supplied and supported in the UK and Ireland by Adept Scientific. Request a free brochure from Adept Scientific ...
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