Here is a summary of tools, resources, and tips for creating a Simulink Real-Time (SLRT) app:
Upgrade MATLAB to a newer release
App Designer support for SLRT has received several new features and we recommend using the most recent MATLAB release if possible. For details on new features and recent changes, refer to the SLRT Release Notes.
In addition to this, App Designer underwent significant performance improvements in MATLAB release R2022b. So, we recommend upgrading to R2022b or beyond for improved overall performance and responsiveness of the app.
Use SLRT App Generator
In the release R2022a, we introduced Simulink Real-Time App Generator. It enables you to automatically generate an App Designer app from a model. You can then open the generated MLAPP file in App Designer for additional changes. The App Generator can save you a lot of effort compared to designing the App from scratch.
For more information, see Create App Designer Instrument Panels by Using App Generator .
SLRT UI Components
In newer releases, the Component Library in App Designer includes a set of dedicated Simulink Real-Time components that support common operations that interface to a real-time application. For more information, see Create App Designer Instrument Panels by Using Simulink Real-Time Components .
The following screenshot shows all SLRT UI components that are available as of R2024a:
App Designer Basics for SLRT
To design your app from scratch, or further customize your SLRT App Generator generated app, the following tutorials are a great place to get started:
- User Interfaces for Simulink Real-Time (Video Tutorial)
- Basic App Designer App for Real-Time Application Interface
- Add App Designer App to Inverted Pendulum Model
- Create App Designer Instrument Panels by Using Simulink Real-Time Components
Use the following objects and functions in the app code and callbacks:
- To control your target and real-time application, use a Menu, dedicated buttons (e.g. Update, Connect, Load, StartStop), or the 'slrealtime' target object.
- To tune parameters via UI components (e.g. Knob, Switch), use a ParameterTuner object, or use 'setparam' in the component callback.
- To live-stream signals to your app, use instruments.
- To plot signals, bind instruments to Axes using connectLine.
- To display signals in other UI components (e.g. Numeric Edit Field, Gauge, Lamp), bind instruments to components using connectScalar.
- To trigger actions based on target events, you can listen for target object events.
Create a Standalone SLRT App
If you have a MATLAB Compiler license, you can compile your App Designer GUI as a standalone executable to run it on a computer without a MATLAB installation/license. For more information, see the page below:Can I use MATLAB Compiler to create a standalone app for controlling a Simulink Real-Time application in R2020b and later?
