MATLAB: What are the differences between Real-Time Windows Target and xPC Target

Question

I want to know the differences between Real-Time Windows Target and xPC Target so that I choose the appropriate product for my project.

Answer 1

Real-Time Windows Target was renamed to Simulink Desktop Real-Time in R2015a.  xPC Target was renamed in R2014a to Simulink Real-Time with target hardware support from Speedgoat. 

Simulink Desktop Real-Time provides a real-time kernel for executing Simulink models on a laptop or desktop running Windows or Mac OS X. It includes library blocks that connect to certain I/O devices. You can create a real-time system in Simulink with your PC or Mac computer and connect it to physical devices.  You can learn more about this product at https://www.mathworks.com/products/simulink-desktop-real-time.html.

Simulink Real-Time  is a complete solution for high performance real-time simulation and testing with Speedgoat target computer hardware.  With Simulink Real-Time you can create real-time applications from Simulink models and run them on dedicated target computer hardware (from Speedgoat) connected to your physical system. It supports real-time simulation and testing, including Rapid Control Prototyping (RCP), DSP and vision system prototyping, and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation.  The target computer from Speedgoat is equipped with a real-time kernel, multicore CPU, I/O and protocol interfaces, and FPGAs.  You can learn more about Simulink Real-Time at https://www.mathworks.com/products/simulink-real-time.html.  Refer to https://www.speedgoat.com/ for more information about the target computer support. To find out more about applications and solutions, please refer to 

https://www.mathworks.com/discovery/hardware-in-the-loop-hil.html and

https://www.mathworks.com/solutions/real-time-simulation-and-testing.html