MATLAB: How to control a simulation running on a machine remotely from another machine in MATLAB 7.7 (R2009a)

accessMATLABremoterunsimulation

I have a use case where I would like to control simulation aspects (start, stop, pause, tuning block parameters) remotely through another machine(Monitor machine).Both the machines run on Windows, and the monitor machine does not have MATLAB or Simulink installed.

I also want to be able to access simulink library blocks remotely and create models.

Best Answer

This can be achieved using a MATLAB Automation server from a client application such as Microsoft Visual Basic.

For example the following sequence of steps shows how to run, pause and stop a Simulink application on a target machine which has MATLAB installed, from a client machine (such as a monitor machine) through a Visual Basic application:

1. On the machine that has MATLAB installed (say, the target machine), make these setup changes:

a. Start the DCOM Configuration utility by selecting "Start->Control Panels->Administrative

Tools->Component Services".

b. Select "Component Services->Computers->My Computer->DCOM Config".

c. Right-click the appropriate "Matlab.Application" line and select "Properties". For MATLAB 7.0 (R14) to MATLAB 7.3 (R2006b), select "Matlab.Application (Version 7.0)". In your case, if you are using MATLAB 7.8 (R2009a), choose the application with version 7.3

d. Click the "Identity" tab and select "Interactive User". Click "OK".

2. Now open a VB editor. For example, you can open the VB editor that is available with excel by opening excel and typing (Alt + F11).

Within the editor, use the CREATEOBJECT command to create an instance of MATLAB in the target machine using the code snippet below:

Sub test()
Dim MatLab As Object
Dim Result As String
Set MatLab = CreateObject("Matlab.Application", <ipaddress of target machine>")
MatLab.Execute ("open_system('vdp')")
Result = MatLab.Execute("set_param('vdp', 'SimulationCommand', 'start')")
MatLab.Execute ("set_param('vdp', 'SimulationCommand', 'stop')")
End Sub

Here, "ipaddress of target machine" is the ipaddress of the machine where MATLAB is to be remotely opened. To obtain this address, type IPCONFIG in the DOS prompt of the target machine.

The above code sample opens MATLAB on a remote machine, opens the model VDP, and starts and stops it. Note that you have to use the MatLab.Execute command to execute MATLAB commands

For more information about running simulations programatically, visit the link below:

 <http://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2009a/toolbox/simulink/index.html?/help/releases/R2009a/toolbox/simulink/ug/f11-61832.html>

You can perform most of the GUI operations of Simulink(such as tuning parameters, etc) from the command line using the SET_PARAM command. More information can be obtained in the MATLAB Help documentation at the link below:

 <http://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2009a/toolbox/simulink/index.html?/help//releases/R2009a/toolbox/simulink/slref/set_param.html>

To add blocks and create libraries use the commands ADD_BLOCK, and ADD_LINE. For more information about these commands, follow the links below:

 <http://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2009a/toolbox/simulink/index.html?/help/releases/R2009a/toolbox/simulink/slref/add_block.html>
 <http://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2009a/toolbox/simulink/index.html?/help/releases/R2009a/toolbox/simulink/slref/add_line.html>

Related Solutions

MATLAB: Are some country-specific paper types not included in MATLAB 7.0 (R14)

This bug has been fixed in Release 14 Service Pack 3 (R14SP3). For previous product releases, read below for any possible workarounds:

MATLAB has a limited list of pre-defined countries for which it sets the default paper type to "A4" and default paper units to "centimeters". For all other countries, "usletter" and "inches" will be used respectively. These settings are created in the "hgrc.m" file.

There are two methods to resolve this issue and set the default value of these properties for your system.

1. If you are an individual user, especially on a network installation of MATLAB, it is recommended that you add the following line in your "startup.m" file (if a "startup.m" file does not exist on your system, create a new one and place it on the MATLAB path):

set(0,'DefaultFigurePaperType','A4')
set(0,'DefaultFigurePaperUnits','centimeters')

This method is preferred for individual users since it will carry over between releases of MATLAB (upgrading MATLAB will preserve your "startup.m" file, but will over-write "hgrc.m"). This also allows "hgrc.m" and "matlabrc.m" to be used by network administrators to make system-wide changes without over-writing individual users' settings. This setting is also independent of your system's country setting, thus, even if your country is set to US, you can still use this method to set the default paper type and paper units in MATLAB.

2. If you are a network administrator and want to make a system-wide change, you can edit the "hgrc.m" file. The list of countries for which MATLAB sets the paper size to "A4" can be found in this file. To add your country code to this list, follow these steps:

a. Find the two-letter ISO 3166 short name for your country, i.e., the ISO 3166-1-alpha-2 code which can be found at the following address:

https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#search

b. Type "edit hgrc" at the MATLAB prompt. (For reference, the "hgrc.m" file resides in $MATLAB\toolbox\local\, where $MATLAB is the MATLAB root directory; the file can be located on your system by typing "which hgrc" at the MATLAB prompt).

c. Scroll down to the line that reads

if usejava('jvm') && ~exist('defaultpaper','var')
  if any(strncmpi(char(java.util.Locale.getDefault.getCountry), ...
           {'gb', 'uk', 'fr', 'de', 'es', 'ch', 'nl', 'it', 'ru',...
           'jp', 'kr', 'tw', 'cn', 'cz', 'sk', 'au', 'dk', 'fi',...
           'gr', 'hu', 'ie', 'il', 'in', 'no', 'pl', 'pt',...
           'ru', 'se', 'tr', 'za'},2))
    defaultpaper = 'A4';
    defaultunits = 'centimeters';
  end
end

d. You need to add your country code to this list. For example, if you were adding Liechtenstein (ISO 3166 code "li"), you would edit this code to read:

if usejava('jvm') && ~exist('defaultpaper','var')
  if any(strncmpi(char(java.util.Locale.getDefault.getCountry), ...
           {'gb', 'uk', 'fr', 'de', 'es', 'ch', 'nl', 'it', 'ru',...
           'jp', 'kr', 'tw', 'cn', 'cz', 'sk', 'au', 'dk', 'fi',...
           'gr', 'hu', 'ie', 'il', 'in', 'no', 'pl', 'pt',...
           'ru', 'se', 'tr', 'za','li'},2))
    defaultpaper = 'A4';
    defaultunits = 'centimeters';
  end
end

e. Save the file.

f. Exit MATLAB and restart for the changes to take effect.

MATLAB: How to programmatically replace a referenced model with a Subsystem in Simulink

Assuming that you have a 'parent.slx' model which references a model 'child.slx' (whose block name is 'Model' in the parent Simulink model), use either of the following options:

>> open_system('parent');

>> add_block('built-in/Subsystem',['parent/mySub']);

>> load_system('child');

>> Simulink.BlockDiagram.copyContentsToSubsystem('child',['parent/mySub']);

>> pos = get_param('parent/Model','position');

>> delete_block('parent/Model');

>> set_param('parent/mySub','position',pos);

>> open_system('parent');

>> load_system('child');

>> convert2subsys('child');

>> add_block('child/Subsystem','parent/mySub');

>> pos = get_param('parent/Model','position');

>> delete_block('parent/Model');

>> set_param('parent/mySub','position',pos);

>> close_system('child',0);

where 'convert2subsys' is defined at the following link:

https://uk.mathworks.com/help/simulink/slref/simulink.blockdiagram.createsubsystem.html#br5mgzk-6

Please refer to the attachment for further details.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MATLAB: Are some country-specific paper types not included in MATLAB 7.0 (R14)

MATLAB: How to programmatically replace a referenced model with a Subsystem in Simulink

Related Question