Simulation and animation in Simulink and VRML

The paper describes a solution that enables the control system designer to easily and seamlessly integrate visualization into simulations studies. The design target has been that no more than 10 percent of the modelling effort should be devoted to modelling the visualization part of the simulation. The visualization module (VRML Animation Toolset) in the prototype implementation is interfaced to Simulink, but the design aims at making the concept simulation platform independent. The visualization module can also be connected to real systems using the real-time workshop thus enabling a visual comparison of the simulation system performance and the true system performance. The paper also explains the underlaying simulation centered architecture and the links to the prototype implementation.