Ibex - A Framework for Hardware in the Loop Simulation

The design of control-algorithms for mechatronic systems is in general difficult and error-prone. Therefore, a common practice is to use Hardware in the Loop Simulation (HILS) for an incremental test and development process. Ibex is a real-time simulation software framework for HILS which has been designed specially for rapid prototyping. A key feature of Ibex is its modular architecture. One type of module can simulate physical systems. For example we have integrated a powerful rigid body dynamics engine into Ibex. Other modules, the so called observers can analyze the state of the simulation at runtime. Implementations thereof range from a simple logfile to sophisticated 3D visualizations of the simulated system. Tools for the detailed inspection and analysis of simulation parameters are also provided. In order to simulate complete mechatronic systems, Ibex additionally can include virtual sensor, actuator and low-level controller modules. The power of the framework is demonstrated by describing two industry projects in which we have used Ibex for HILS. The example of a parallel-kinematic delta robot illustrates how a standard PC can simulate a non-trivial geometry and still keep up a high bandwidth communication with the real controller of the robot. The second showcase is the simulation of a complete elevator system which visualizes the interaction of a number of complex mechanical parts within the simulation