Model-based design for wireless systems

The RF Blockset and the RF Toolbox are two new products designed to expand the scope of model-based design for signal processing and communications engineering applications.

The RF Blockset and the RF Toolbox are two new products designed to expand the scope of model-based design for signal processing and communications engineering applications.

Both products enhance the functionality of The MathWorks' industry-leading software platforms, Matlab and Simulink, by providing users with a broad scope of features and benefits for RF system design, analysis, development and implementation.

The MathWorks RF Blockset works within the Simulink environment and offers users a library of blocks to model the behaviour of RF amplifiers, mixers, filters, and transmission lines.

Using the RF Blockset, system architects can apply model-based design to develop commercial and defence wireless communication systems and semiconductors faster and more efficiently.

Engineers can validate a working model in Simulink and then use that model as an executable specification to verify design and implementation.

As a result, users can optimise an entire RF system, eliminating laborious programming and delivering substantial time and cost savings.

"Modelling the interaction of the two worlds of signal processing algorithms and RF power amplifier characteristics is critical to my work", said Jussi Hovila, Algorithm and Hardware Design Engineer with Nokia Networks.

"With RF Blockset I can model both domains in a rapid way".

"Building the model is faster than by other methods, and the conversion to a baseband complex model means the model runs fast too".

Also available from The MathWorks is the RF Toolbox, which extends the Matlab technical computing environment by providing users with prebuilt design and analysis functions and a graphical tool for working with, analysing, and visualising the behaviour of RF components.

With the RF Toolbox, RF engineers can now access industry standard data files and work with network parameters in Matlab to manipulate data and visualise results of analysis, thereby eliminating error-prone manual calculations.

Additionally, the RF Toolbox includes rectangular, polar and Smith charts for visualising data.

The RF Blockset works with the RF Toolbox to manipulate network parameters in the Matlab workspace or to read in data from industry-standard file formats.

During simulation, blocks are modelled using a time-domain complex-baseband representation for fast simulations and compatibility with other Simulink blocks, such as those in the Communications Blockset (available separately).

This combination enables the development of algorithms to mitigate the effect of RF impairments on system performance.

"Engineers from all industries have come to rely on The MathWorks as providers of leading tools for developing algorithms, modelling and simulating complex systems, generating real-time code and verifying hardware and software implementation", said Colin Warwick, Communication Product Manager, The MathWorks.

"The release of these two new tools for RF applications provides engineers and system architects with even more functionality in Matlab and Simulink and ultimately enables them to accelerate the development of signal processing and communication systems".

The RF Blockset and RF Toolbox are available immediately for Windows, Unix/Linux, and Macintosh platforms.

US list prices start at $2000 for the RF Blockset and $1000 for the RF Toolbox.

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