Connector aids incorporation of automation software.

Maplesoft and Phoenix Integration have a new plugin that enables engineers to easily incorporate Maplesoft software products Maple and MapleSim into the ModelCenter workflow integration and automation platform from Phoenix Integration.  The plugin* allows engineers to take advantage of the reduced risk, improved designs, and shorter development times resulting from using Maplesoft’s engineering tools, along with the efficiencies that come from a process integration platform.

MapleSim, an advanced system-level modeling and simulation tool, enables engineers to take advantage of modern techniques in modeling and simulation. Maple is a powerful math software tool for mathematical computations and explorations. ModelCenter is a vendor-neutral software framework for creating and automating multi-tool workflows, optimizing product designs, and sharing engineering data and knowledge. It is used by leading organizations worldwide to reduce development costs, improve engineering efficiency, stimulate innovation, and design more competitive products. The new connector makes it easy to bring Maple and MapleSim into ModelCenter so they can be seamlessly incorporated into the ModelCenter-based engineering workflow.

A powerful application of this connector is functional verification of a system design by automatically testing MapleSim models against design requirements from Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) software tools, such as IBM® Rational® Rhapsody® or No Magic™ MagicDraw®. Engineers can directly connect the parametric design constraints, which are derived by the MBSE tool, to multi-disciplinary system simulations in MapleSim. When a change is made to the system parameters, ModelCenter calls MapleSim to run a simulation using the new parameter set. ModelCenter then checks the simulated results against the design constraints, and generates a report of the compliance test results. Any constraint failures are flagged, allowing the design team to make the necessary design changes very early in the process.

Other applications include using MapleSim and Maple for design space explorations, optimization, and development projects based on executable requirements, all inside ModelCenter.

“By incorporating Maple and MapleSim in ModelCenter using this new plugin, our customers will be able to reduce manual effort and increase the efficiency of many aspects of their development workflow,” said Paul Goossens, Vice President, Engineering Solutions at Maplesoft.

“Maple and MapleSim make great additions to the collection of engineering tools that can be integrated into ModelCenter,” said Scott Ragon, Director, Technical Business Development, Phoenix Integration. “They offer valuable benefits for modeling, simulation, analysis, and calculation management that customers can now take advantage of inside their standard ModelCenter workflow.”

* This connector can be freely downloaded from the Maplesoft website. Their products can also be integrated with other process integration platforms, such as Optimus® from Noesis Solutions. Contact Maplesoft for details.

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Faster hardware-in-the-loop testing!

ETAS K.K. and Maplesoft has announced the successful connection between LABCAR, the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing system from ETAS, and MapleSim, the advanced system level modeling tool from Maplesoft. Initial projects have shown that using MapleSim models resulted in more than 15 times faster implementation compared to other similar products.

LABCAR is an HIL testing system for automotive electronic control units (ECUs). With its open and modular system architecture for simulation models, software, hardware, and test automation, and its time-synchronous ECU access, LABCAR is easily scalable and well suited for integration with third-party hardware, software, or simulation models. MapleSim offers a modern approach to physical modeling and simulation, dramatically reducing model development and analysis time while producing fast, high-fidelity simulations.

MapleSim includes the ability to export models to a variety of formats, including the Functional Mockup Interface (FMI). FMI is an industry standard for model definition, designed to facilitate the sharing of models across different tool sets for co-simulation and model exchange. Since LABCAR supports the FMI standard, engineers can incorporate their MapleSim models directly into their LABCAR testing environment. Engineers also have the ability to export MapleSim models as Simulink® S-functions, and incorporate them in the LABCAR testing environment. In these ways, LABCAR users can take advantage of the extremely fast, high fidelity simulation code produced by MapleSim when testing their electronic control units.

The seamless integration of MapleSim models into the LABCAR HIL environment significantly increases productivity for LABCAR customers. Typically, models developed early in the design phase must be modified, by hand, before they can be used in the HIL test and validation phase, in order to make them fast enough for use in a real time testing environment. However, MapleSim’s unique technology produces extremely fast simulation code, without sacrificing model fidelity. As a result, engineers can use the same models in both phases of the project, saving them time and giving them highly accurate simulation results.

“Everyone benefits when companies like ETAS and Maplesoft support the FMI standard for model exchange and co-simulation,” says Dr. Laurent Bernardin, Executive Vice-President and Chief Scientist at Maplesoft. “The seamless integration of MapleSim models in LABCAR makes it easy for engineers to leverage the strengths of both tools, without having to spend time trying to manually make the tools connect.”

“Our goal is to give engineers a flexible, effective testing environment, and MapleSim with FMI connectivity helps us do that,” says Dr. Tobias Kreuizinger, Senior Manager for Test & Validation Solutions. “The combination of the high performance LABCAR environment with extremely fast, high-fidelity MapleSim models means engineers can perform even better testing of their control and diagnostic functions in less time than ever before.”

Students refresh their maths skills in Vienna!

After high school, many graduates take advantage of their new-found freedom to seek employment or travel before continuing their formal education. When they return to their studies, they often come to the realization that they have not retained enough knowledge from high school to thrive at university. Professors at the Vienna University of Technology (Vienna UT) noticed in particular that many of these students were not prepared to pick up their mathematics studies from where they left off in high school. In addition, students joining the university came from different backgrounds with different levels of knowledge.

At Vienna UT, university-level mathematics courses are essential for programs such as Engineering, Economics, Computer Science, Physics, and Urban and Regional Planning. Proficiency in high school mathematics is expected of all students in these programs. To help the students whose math skills were not at the required level expected of high school graduates, the research group of Prof. Breitenecker at Vienna UT developed a refresher course that would be offered in the weeks leading up to the start of the semester, with the goal of raising students’ mathematical proficiency. This optional course would cover topics that were most essential to the programs participants were enrolled in. A diagnostic test at the beginning of the course identified concepts that demanded closer attention and steered the direction of the course for each student.

Since the course was held over a short period of time, the resources were simply not available to design and grade exercises for a large number of participants, let alone return results in time to provide effective feedback. In order for the refresher course to be most effective, a web-based assessment system with automatic grading capable of handling mathematics was crucial - this is where Maplesoft™, a subsidiary of Cybernet Systems Co was called in!

This is where Maple T.A. became an important tool for Vienna UT. “After a long period of testing different environments in commercial and open software we made the decision to choose Maple T.A. because of its powerful algebraic possibilities and the randomization feature,” noted Andreas Körner, Lecturer at Vienna UT. “The grading function, especially the automatic and prompt feedback to students, was also important. The programming interface allowed the adoption of the grading routine to user defined grading algorithms which helped to reinforce the didactical nature of the lectures. We invested time and effort in creating examples and tests, and with that we now have a system of assessment that is efficient, one that offers students a flexible way of completing tests, and instructors a smooth administration of lecturers.”

Maple T.A. is a powerful online testing and assessment system designed especially for courses involving mathematics. It offers features such as standard math notation, sophisticated plotting, free-response math questions, and intelligent grading, allowing instructors to truly assess student understanding of math-based concepts. Because it is designed especially for courses involving mathematics, it is particularly suitable for use in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. In addition, Maple T.A. is compatible with virtually any course management system, including Blackboard®, Moodle™, and Brightspace™ by D2L™, so it can be seamlessly incorporated into existing course infrastructure.

Following each session of the refresher course at Vienna UT, students could go to Maple T.A. to begin practicing what they learned immediately. Whenever students encountered problems they could not solve, they received hints and feedback in Maple T.A. that helped them work through the problem on their own. This feedback allowed students to refine their skills and ultimately master the concept without depending on a professor or teaching assistant. “Maple T.A. is an asset to staff and students especially during the refresher course,” Stefanie Winkler, Assistant, Vienna UT noted. “A large amount of students can work independently without generating more administration work.”

A comparison of the results from the diagnostic test held at the start of the refresher course and the final test showed vast improvements in students’ grades. The majority of students failed the diagnostic test at the start of the course. However, by the end of the course, results showed a significant shift: most students scored 70% or higher. Over the last few years, students’ test results have continued to reflect the same trend. “Since 2008 when we began the course, these test scores show a consistent increase in students’ mathematical skills year after year. Using Maple T.A. in our refresher course has been very useful. Maple T.A. made it possible to bring students closer to a level of mathematics necessary to successfully pursue their area of study,” Prof. Felix Breitenecker commented.

Since the refresher course was first offered to Electrical Engineering students in 2008, the program has been expanded to seven different fields of study. Maple T.A. has also been adopted into other courses at the Vienna UT, and students’ exams are now beginning to be administered online using Maple T.A. in some engineering courses.

Questions developed by the Vienna UT team, covering math topics such as Integral Calculus, Linear Functions, Vector Analysis, Differential Calculus, and Trigonometry, have been added to the Maple T.A. Cloud, making them available to all users of Maple T.A.

New battery library for system simulation!

Allows engineers to reduce risks and costs by incorporating battery behavior in their system-levels models.

Maplesoft™ has released the MapleSim™ Battery Library, an add-on component library to their advanced system-level modeling tool. The MapleSim Battery Library allows engineers to incorporate physics-based predictive models of battery cells into their multidomain models so they can take battery behavior into account early in the design process.

Enables engineers to allow for
battery behavior early in
the design process

This is a modern approach to physical modeling and simulation, dramatically reducing model development and analysis time while producing fast, high-fidelity simulations. With the MapleSim Battery Library, engineers can include battery behavior in their system-level models, allowing them to understand how the battery will behave as part of the greater system. With this information, engineers can optimize battery and system performance, and reduce the risk of undesirable effects such as battery overheating.

The MapleSim Battery Library supports both equivalent circuit and electrochemical battery models, and includes parameter identification tools for determining model parameters from experimental data.

It can be used in any modeling project that involves batteries, including consumer electronics, electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, power electronics, and energy storage in power generation applications. Typical projects include battery load analysis and optimization to maximize the time between charges; hardware-in-the-loop testing of Battery Management Systems; thermal modeling and cooling system optimization to stabilize battery temperature; and State of Health effects on charge/discharge efficiency and thermal runaway.

“Battery behavior plays a significant role in so many of today’s products,” says Paul Goossens, Vice President of Engineering Solutions at Maplesoft. “With MapleSim and the MapleSim Battery Library, engineers now have the tools they need to understand how the battery will behave as part of the overall system early in the design process. They can optimize the design, and save significant amounts of time and cost by detecting and avoiding problems before they occur.”

MapleSim and the MapleSim Battery Library are part of Maplesoft Engineering Solutions, which provides both products and services to help engineers reduce development risk and bring high quality products to market faster.

New tools for design exploration!

MapleSim™, the advanced system-level modeling and simulation platform has been released by Maplesoft™. This release makes it substantially easier to explore and validate designs, create and manage libraries of custom components, and use MapleSim models within the engineering toolchain.

Release offers new tools for design exploration

MapleSim offers a modern approach to physical modeling and simulation, dramatically reducing model development and analysis time while producing fast, high-fidelity simulations. In MapleSim 7, a new results manager provides greater flexibility when investigating simulation results and exploring designs. It is now possible to compare multiple simulation runs at the click of a button, including simulations of a single model and simulations of different models. Engineers can instantly plot the behavior of any variable, including variables that were not explicitly probed during the simulation. Other tools available through the results manager include the ability to easily visualize the correspondence between the 2-D plot results and the 3-D visualization of the model during simulation.

To support model creation, MapleSim 7 also makes it significantly easier to create, manage, and share libraries of custom components. As well, MapleSim 7 also expands the support of the Modelica language so that more Modelica definitions can be used directly inside MapleSim.

The MapleSim Connector for FMI, which allows engineers to share very efficient, high-fidelity models created in MapleSim with other modeling tools, has also been updated with this release. FMI (Functional Mockup Interface) is an industry standard for defining models to facilitate the sharing of models across different tool sets. For MapleSim 7, the MapleSim Connector for FMI supports more export options for co-simulation and model exchange.

“MapleSim allows engineers to reduce their development time and develop better designs, whether on their own or working with experts in the Maplesoft Engineering Solutions group,” says Dr. Laurent Bernardin, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist at Maplesoft. “With MapleSim 7, our customers will benefit from the new tools that help them analyze their models and improve their designs, while the enhanced support for FMI means even more integration options between MapleSim and the rest of their toolchain.”

As part of the MapleSim 7 family of products, Maplesoft has also released a new component library. The MapleSim Battery Library, which is available as a separate add-on, allows engineers to incorporate physics-based predictive models of battery cells into their multidomain models so they can take battery behavior into account early in the design process.

Design toolbox expands control design capabilities!

Maplesoft™ has announced an important update to the MapleSim Control Design Toolbox, an add-on to MapleSim, the advanced system-level modeling and simulation tool from Maplesoft. The MapleSim Control Design Toolbox allows engineers to take advantage of the greater flexibility and analysis options available through the use of symbolic parameters. This new release extends the functionality of this toolbox with more control algorithms, options for automatically selecting the most suitable algorithm and parameter values, and extensive improvements to existing features.

The updated MapleSim Control Design Toolbox
allows engineers to design a greater variety
of controllers and controller-observer systems
while leveraging powerful analysis options
 using symbolic parameters.

The Design Toolbox now includes additional control algorithms that operate on a wider range of systems and the ability to construct closed-loop systems so that users can create controllers with feedback. It offers a more complete set of algorithms for PID control, including automatic tuning of the controller. It also provides automatic computation of design parameters, such as poles and weighted matrices, for state control feedback design. These enhancements allow engineers to design a greater variety of controllers and controller-observer systems such as linear-quadratic-Gaussian control (LQG).

“With the MapleSim Control Design Toolbox, customers can easily perform traditional control tasks, but they also have the added flexibility that comes from having access to the symbolic power of MapleSim,” says Dr. Chad Schmitke, Director of MapleSim Development at Maplesoft. “By including symbolic parameters, researchers can gain insights into control problems in ways that are simply not possible with other tools. In addition, educators can use this approach to give their students valuable insight into the theory behind control design, giving them the understanding they need to tackle challenging problems, in school and out in the field. This new release increases those abilities by significantly expanding the scope of problems this toolbox can solve.”

The new MapleSim Control Design Toolbox is an add-on to the recent release of MapleSim, MapleSim 6.4.

Reducing project development time

Development environment ideal for managing projects in the Maple language.

Maplesoft™ has announced a new member of their Maple™ product family, the Maple IDE. The Maple IDE, powered by DigiArea Inc., is an integrated development environment for the Maple programming language that improves productivity by providing advanced tools for writing and managing Maple projects. The Maple IDE, which is based on the Eclipse™ platform, offers a customized industry-standard environment for medium- to large-scale Maple development projects.

The Maple language provides built-in knowledge of mathematical data structures and concepts, support for writing multi-threaded, parallel programs as well as a very rich library of existing commands and algorithms. Over 90 percent of the algorithms built into Maple have been implemented using the Maple programming language. This same language is available to any Maple user for writing scripts, implementing new algorithms and extending the Maple system. The Maple IDE makes it dramatically easier for Maple users to create, manage, and update libraries of Maple code.

Features of the Maple IDE include the ability to quickly browse and search through source hierarchies, automatic highlighting and formatting based on syntactic and semantic properties of the code, navigation, testing and much more. The Maple IDE assists developers in writing, updating, maintaining, and understanding code, so projects can be completed faster with fewer errors, and later enhancements can be made more easily.

“Together with our partner DigiArea Inc., we have created a modern development environment on top of the popular Eclipse framework,” says Dr. Laurent Bernardin, Executive Vice-President and Chief Scientist at Maplesoft. “The Maple IDE provides a powerful, familiar environment for seasoned programmers, while giving new programmers valuable assistance getting started. Programming medium to large libraries in Maple is suddenly a feasible option for more customers.”

“We are excited to partner with Maplesoft to bring this new product to the Maple user community,” said Oleksandr Shkliaiev, President, DigiArea. “Working with Maple IDE will put a beginner on the path to learning the Maple language faster, and advanced developers will find a full range of tools for professional Maple programming.”