Fixed-point toolbox 2

Citation

(2007), "Fixed-point toolbox 2", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 79 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2007.12779ead.011

Fixed-point toolbox 2

Fixed-point toolbox 2

The MathWorks announce the release of, which provides enhanced floating- to-fixed-point conversion capabilities and accelerated fixed-point algorithms that execute at compiled C-code speed. As a result, design engineers now have a cohesive workflow for optimising and verifying embedded algorithms entirely within MATLAB, which speeds up design iterations and eliminates translation errors.

Most embedded signal processing and control systems require fixed-point algorithms for implementation on digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontrollers, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). A major challenge that embedded system designers face is maintaining the correct behaviour of an algorithm when converting it from floating-point to fixed-point representation. Fixed-Point Toolbox provides tools for data logging and data-type override that streamline the conversion process and ensure consistent algorithm behaviour in both representations. A new accelerated simulation mode in the toolbox increases the execution speed of fixed- point MATLAB algorithms by factors of up to a thousand.

“Fixed-point development usually involves managing a design expressed in several different languages, such as MATLAB, C, assembly and HDL. This is a time-consuming and error-prone process,” said Dr Houman Zarrinkoub, Technical Marketing Manager at The MathWorks. “Now, with the new version of Fixed-Point Toolbox, The MathWorks introduces a complete workflow that equips engineers with efficient tools to perform design validation and trade-off analysis on fixed-point algorithms in MATLAB.”

Fixed-Point Toolbox also facilitates the use of fixed-point MATLAB algorithms within for system simulation, system verification and automatic generation of embeddable C code. Because the algorithms have the same fixed-point representation across MATLAB and Simulink, design engineers can complete their designs in a single environment.

Details available from: The MathWorks Ltd, Tel: +44 (0)1223 226 700, E-mail: pauline.fox@mathworks.co.uk