AutomationShield Library

About AutomationShield

Arduino, MATLAB and Simulink API and example collection for the AutomationShield expansion boards for control engineering and mechatronics education. You can read more about the AutomationShield project in our Wiki page.

Downloading and Installing the AutomationShield Library

I don't know Git

If you are not familiar with Git (command line), please download the latest release of the library from the Releases section, as the production code download does not include certain dependencies. Search for the AutomationShield_vX.Y.tar file in the Assets, where vX.Y is the major and minor version number of the release. Do not use the Source Code files in the Assets, since these lack the dependent code as well.

I use Git

For those who wish to use Git, this repository contains submodules, therefore you should use git clone --recursive git://github.com/gergelytakacs/AutomationShield.git to get these as well. In case you have already cloned the repository, the submodule directories in src/lib/ may be empty. In this case, you have to initialize it by calling submodule update --init --recursive.

Interfaces

Arduino IDE

Open the Arduino IDE, click on the Sketch menu, and find the Include Library option. This opens another sub-menu from which you should select Add .ZIP Library... that will open the file browser. Locate the renamed library .zip file and click Open.

MATLAB

Launch the installMatlabAndSimulink.m file from the root directory or the installForMATLAB.m from the matlab directory from the MATLAB command line. This adds and saves the correct paths to your MATLAB installation. The MATLAB API for ArduinoShield requires the installation of the MATLAB Support Package for Arduino Hardware.

Simulink

Launch the installMatlabAndSimulink.m file from the root directory or the installForSimulink.m from the simulink directory from the MATLAB command line. This adds and saves the correct paths to your MATLAB installation. The MATLAB API for ArduinoShield requires the installation of the Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware. The algorithmic blocks for the boards should appear in your library.

Library usage

This is a minimal summary for library usage. The hardware library for a particular board is initialized by the board name followed by begin for example to initialize the OptoShield call:

OptoShield.begin();

The onboard sensor is read by calling the sensorRead() method, in case of the aforementioned OptoShield this would be

y=OptoShield.sensorRead();

returning the reading to the variable y. Finally, the actuator is set by the actuatorWrite() method, that is

OptoShield.actuatorWrite(u);

sets the actuator to u. Inputs and outputs are floating point numbers.

Please consult our Wiki page for more details and board specific instructions.

Examples

Arduino IDE

The library contains examples in the \examples\ directory that will also show up in the Examples collection of the Arduino IDE. You can access this by clicking File, Examples and look for the AutomationShield library. Examples showcase the use of the AutomationShield library in Arduino sketches.

MATLAB IDE

Worked examples for the AutomationShield MATLAB IDE are located in the \matlab\examples\ directory.

Simulink IDE

Worked examples for the AutomationShield Simulink IDE are located in the \simulink\examples\ directory.