The MathWorks Aerospace Blockset 2 With New Flight Simulator Interface For Desktop Modeling, Simulation, And Visualization
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The MathWorks Aerospace Blockset 2 With New Flight Simulator Interface For Desktop Modeling, Simulation, And Visualization

The MathWorks announced the availability of the Aerospace Blockset 2, which builds on the foundation of Simulink and Model-Based Design for aerospace vehicle modeling, simulation, and visualization. New features bring high-quality flight simulation graphics to the desktop, where modeling and simulation is more accessible and economical than design and test conducted in a lab. Additionally, the new version provides off-the-shelf, drag-and-drop representations of aerospace components using standards-based reference models. Consequently, engineers can use the Aerospace Blockset 2 to optimize vehicle subsystem configurations and rapidly perform subsequent tradeoff studies earlier in the design stage.

Interfacing with FlightGear flight simulator software, new animation blocks in the Aerospace Blockset 2 enable users to visualize vehicle dynamics in a sophisticated 3-D simulation framework. Engineers can now quickly evaluate and verify complex flight dynamics before committing to a final design by using Simulink for multi-domain simulation and Model-Based Design.

"The Aerospace Blockset has desktop visualization capabilities that provide the ability to quickly analyze the response of an aerospace system, not only from a pilot's perspective, but also from a chase aircraft or ground observer," said Kevin Cunningham, Aerospace Engineer, NASA Langley Research Center. "The ability to present visual animations is particularly beneficial when complex multi-axis dynamic maneuvers are being evaluated. Now, non-subject matter experts are able to comprehend the results more effectively."

The Aerospace Blockset 2 also extends support for navigation and tracking applications. Expanded modeling utilities, including transformations and equations of motion for world or Earth-Centered Earth-Fixed (ECEF) coordinates, enable engineers to model high-orbiting and long-range vehicles. Similarly, point-mass models make possible the simplified representations characteristic of multiple-body modeling. Plus, an expansion of the GNC library with navigation blocks - an accelerometer, gyroscope and inertial measurement unit - enable users to meet difficult design schedules by providing pre-built components when testing full vehicle designs.

"We are pleased to be providing the aerospace engineering community with a product that not only bridges the gap between modeling, simulation and flight simulation graphics software, but also helps meet the growing demand for designing low-cost, high-endurance aerospace vehicles," said Jennifer Petrosky, industry product marketing manager, The MathWorks. "Now, engineers can save time and money by using desktop modeling and simulation capabilities rather than relying on costly lab-conducted design and testing methods."

The Aerospace Blockset 2 is available immediately for Microsoft Windows, UNIX/Linux, and Macintosh platforms. The U.S. list price starts at $1,000.

The Aerospace Blockset is an interesting comprehensive suite of specialized blocks for modeling, integrating, and simulating aerospace systems and components that are vital to anything that flies, such as aircraft, spacecraft, rocket, propulsion systems, and unmanned airborne vehicles.

The Aerospace Blockset is actually an extension of The MathWorks' Simulink application with blocks specifically intended for aerospace applications. Simulink is a platform for simulation and model-based design of dynamic systems. It provides an interactive graphical environment and a customizable set of block libraries that for accurately designing, simulating, implementing, and testing control, signal processing, communications, and other dynamic systems. The Aerospace Blockset also includes blocks that implement mathematical representations from aerospace standards, common references, and fundamental principles. Blocks for modeling equations of motion and for navigation, gain scheduling, visualization, unit conversion, and other key operations are provided, and you can access all algorithmic C source code for really tailoring things to meet your needs, if you're so inclined.

Standards-based, pre-defined reference blocks, including environmental models for gravity, atmosphere, and wind let you verify and validate vehicle system design. Graphical switching capabilities let you alternate between mathematical representations for modifying modeling conditions without having to actually change the model.

The aerospace vehicle component block libraries in the Aerospace Blockset let you design and test a subsystem or complete vehicle simulation in a single model. For example, you can perform analyses and tradeoff studies to understand system behavior under a variety of environmental conditions and parameter constraints before full system specification. Some of the major component block libraries include:

If this all sounds like a lot of capability, well, it is, and it starts at a reasonable price. With the Aerospace Blockset and the comprehensive set of libraries, you can construct the dynamics, perform simulations, and understand system behavior under a variety of conditions for just about any aerospace system or complete vehicle that flies.


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Jeffrey Rowe is the editor and publisher of MCADCafé and MCAD Weekly Review. He can be reached here or 408.850.9230.

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