Simulink-UHD: A Simulink Interface for the UHD

The Simulink-UHD project is an Open Source Software Package that enables owners of a Universal Software Radio Peripheral (hereinafter referred to as USRP) from Ettus Research to build models in Simulink that interface with the device in real-time. Simulink-UHD uses the Universal Hardware Driver (UHD) developed by Ettus Research to transfer data between Simulink and the USRP. It is thus possible to build a wide variety of signal processing and wireless communication applications directly in Simulink while being able to test them on real hardware at the same time.

This software package was initiated at the Communication Engineering Lab (CEL) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany.

Information about ...
Requirements Build/Install instructions for Linux Build/Install instructions for Microsoft Windows Block References Function References Weblinks Copyright Contact

Information about ...

Requirements

Build/Install instructions for Linux

Build/Install instructions for Microsoft Windows

Requirements

MATLAB/Simulink (R2009b or newer) and MEX compatible Compiler
UHD library from the Ettus Research
Boost C++ libraries from here

The Simulink-UHD software package doesn't come with pre-build binaries due to license issues, but the compilation is quite simple.

Build/Install instructions for Linux

The build instructions for Linux-based systems are a little more extensive/complicated than for Windows. The main circumstance is that the used UHD library libuhd has to be compiled with the same Boost version as MATLAB. If you already have an existing UHD installation, check the versions:

Locate one of the MATLAB Boost libraries and check the filename

$ locate libboost_regex
MATLAB_ROOT/bin/glnx*/libboost_regex.so.1.44.0

Locate the libuhd library (usually /usr/lib) and check its dependencies

$ ldd /usr/lib/libuhd.so.003.004 | grep boost
      libboost_date_time.so.1.46.1 => /usr/lib/libboost_date_time.so.1.46.1 (0x00007f6520b16000)
      libboost_filesystem.so.1.46.1 => /usr/lib/libboost_filesystem.so.1.46.1 (0x00007f65208f8000)
      libboost_regex.so.1.46.1 => /usr/lib/libboost_regex.so.1.46.1 (0x00007f65205f5000)
      libboost_system.so.1.46.1 => /usr/lib/libboost_system.so.1.46.1 (0x00007f65203f1000)
      libboost_thread.so.1.46.1 => /usr/lib/libboost_thread.so.1.46.1 (0x00007f65201d8000)

If the versions of the Boost libraries differ as in the example above or you haven't an UHD installation yet, follow the steps 1-7. If the versions are the same, continue with step 8.

The following steps are exemplary for Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin, MATLAB R2012a and UHD 003.004.003:

Download the Boost libraries from Sourceforge. It has to be the same version as MATLAB uses, here 1.44.
Extract the archive, enter the Boost folder and start the configuration
```
$ ./bootstrap
```
The Boost folder will be called BOOST_ROOT below.
If no errors or missing dependencies occurred, start the Boost build process for the needed libraries
```
$ ./bjam --layout=tagged --with-date_time --with-filesystem --with-program_options --with-regex --with-system --with-thread --with-test threading=multi
```
Since the Boost libraries are only needed for the Simulink-UHD software package, you shouldn't install them system-wide (No sudo ./bjam install).
Get the source code of the UHD from Ettus Research and provide the prerequisites as explained here. The UHD folder will be called UHD_ROOT below.
Follow the Build Guide until the point of generating the Makefiles with CMake. It is important to tell the UHD build system to use the self-build Boost libraries. For example, change the Boost_DATE_TIME_LIBRARY path to BOOST_ROOT/stage/lib/libboost_date_time-mt.so. We recommend to use the graphical CMake tools ccmake or cmake-gui for doing so. Both are available in the Ubuntu package manager.
Generate the Makefiles and start the UHD build process
```
$ make
```
Since the UHD library is only needed for the Simulink-UHD software package, you shouldn't install it system-wide (No sudo make install).

After a successful build, check the dependencies of the self-build UHD library

$ ldd UHD_ROOT/host/build/lib/libuhd.so.003.004 | grep boost
      libboost_date_time-mt.so.1.44.0 => BOOST_ROOT/stage/lib/libboost_date_time-mt.so.1.44.0 (0x00007fca6bfc6000)
      libboost_filesystem-mt.so.1.44.0 => BOOST_ROOT/stage/lib/libboost_filesystem-mt.so.1.44.0 (0x00007fca6bda2000)
      libboost_regex-mt.so.1.44.0 => BOOST_ROOT/stage/lib/libboost_regex-mt.so.1.44.0 (0x00007fca6ba9c000)
      libboost_system-mt.so.1.44.0 => BOOST_ROOT/stage/lib/libboost_system-mt.so.1.44.0 (0x00007fca6b898000)
      libboost_thread-mt.so.1.44.0 => BOOST_ROOT/stage/lib/libboost_thread-mt.so.1.44.0 (0x00007fca6b67e000)

If the Boost version match the MATLAB Boost version, continue.

Get the Simulink-UHD source from GitHub
```
$ git clone git://github.com/kit-cel/simulink-uhd.git
```
If you aren't using git, you can download a compressed file from the project page directly. Extract the archive to any folder you want.
Run MATLAB and setup the MEX compiler
```
>> mex -setup
```
(Successfully tested with gcc 4.6.3)
Switch to your Simulink-UHD directory.
Open and modify config.m to point to your Boost and UHD directory.
```
% UHD install directory
UHD_DIRECTORY = '';
% Boost include directory
BOOST_DIRECTORY = '';
```
Afterwards run config.m to generate the settings.mat file required for make.m.
Start the build process
```
>> make
```
For additional options run help make.
Add the directories bin, blockset, help and utils to your MATLAB path environment.
You will now find a new Toolbox named Simulink-UHD in the Simulink Library Browser. Additionally, a simple spectrum scope model is located in the directory demo.
Important: Since MATLAB uses the standard search-paths for external libraries, add the path of the self-build UHD library to the search-path
```
$ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=UHD_ROOT/host/build/lib
$ matlab
```
Alternatively, you can copy the libuhd to the MATLAB library folder MATLAB_ROOT/bin/glnx*.

Check if the Simulink-UHD software package is working properly

>> uhd_find_devices
linux; GNU C++ version 4.6.3; Boost_104400; UHD_003.004.003-177-g584b7ae2
Found 1 device(s):
Identifier    Type  Name
==============================
192.168.10.52 usrp2

Build/Install instructions for Microsoft Windows

Get and build UHD or download the pre-build binaries. The latest successfully tested version is 003.004.003. If you are using a 64-bit MATLAB, make sure to get a 64-bit build of UHD.

After installing UHD, please make sure it is working. Plug-in and connect your USRP device and run one the tools that came with UHD, e.g.

> uhd_find_devices.exe
Win32; Microsoft Visual C++ version 10.0; Boost_104700; UHD_003.004.003-26-stable
--------------------------------------------------
-- UHD Device 0
--------------------------------------------------
Device Address:
  type: usrp2
  addr: 192.168.10.52
  name:
  serial:

If you have not added UHD to your PATH, these tools are found the bin folder of your UHD installation (usually C:\Program Files\UHD\bin).

Download the Boost libraries from Sourceforge and extract them to e.g. C:\boost.
Get the Simulink-UHD source from GitHub
```
$ git clone git://github.com/kit-cel/simulink-uhd.git
```
If you aren't using git, you can download a compressed file from the project page directly. Extract the archive to any folder you want.
Run MATLAB and setup the MEX compiler
```
>> mex -setup
```
(Successfully tested with Microsoft Visual Studio 10)
Switch to your Simulink-UHD directory.
Open and modify config.m to point to your Boost and UHD directory.
```
% UHD install directory
UHD_DIRECTORY = '';
% Boost include directory
BOOST_DIRECTORY = '';
```
Afterwards run config.m to generate the settings.mat file required for make.m.
Start the build process
```
>> make
```
For additional options run help make.
Add the directories bin, blockset, help and utils to your MATLAB path environment.
You will now find a new Toolbox named Simulink-UHD in the Simulink Library Browser. Additionally, a simple spectrum scope model is located in the directory demo.

Block References

The Simulink-UHD software package comes with three Simulink blocks that can be found in the Simulink Block Library: uhd_sink, uhd_source and uhd_sensor. For more details refer to the following sites:

uhd_sink: Transfer data from Simulink to the USRP.
uhd_source: Receive data from the USRP.
uhd_sensor: Query sensor values from a USRP.

Function References

In order to find attached USRPs or to query device parameters, the Simulink-UHD offers some functions like uhd_find_devices or uhd_get_param that can be invoked from the MATLAB console. For a list of functions refer to the references site.

Copyright

The software-package Simulink-UHD consists of software from several authors under different licenses. The following table lists all included software packages:

Software Package	Copyright holder / Author	License	Sourcecode Folders
Simulink-UHD	Communication Engineering Lab (CEL), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) / Sebastian Koslowski, Michael Schwall	GNU General Public License	src/ include/
libuhd	Free Software Foundation, Inc. / Ettus Research LLC	GNU General Public License	wherever you saved it

Weblinks

The following table lists various weblinks which might be useful to you:

Simulink-UHD	Homepage of this project.
UHD	The software that provides an API to the USRP.
Ettus Research, Inc.	The company that produces the USRP.
UHD USRP Application Notes	Build guide, application notes and API documentation of the UHD
Daughterboard Application Notes	Some useful information about daughterboards
Communication Engineering Lab (CEL)	The institute at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, that initated the Simulink-UHD project.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology	Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), University of the State Baden-Württemberg and National Large-scale Research Center of the Helmholtz-Association.

Contact

If you have further questions concerning the Simulink-UHD software package (e.g. the build-process) or you've found a bug, please feel free to contact us:

Sebastian Koslowski	sebastian koslowski ∂does-not-exist.kit edu
Michael Schwall	michael schwall ∂does-not-exist.kit edu