Visualization Tools

You can visualize stages of your Aerospace Toolbox application using flight simulator, flight instrument, and MATLAB^® graphics-based functions and classes. You can also transform coordinate axes to different types.

Axes Transformation Functions

Use the axes transform functions to convert your data to the desired coordinate system. Axes transformation functions support these transformations:

• Rotation angles and quaternions, direction cosine matrices, or Euler-Rodriguez vectors

• Direction cosine matrices and quaternions, geodetic latitude and longitude, stability frames, Euler-Rodriguez vectors, attack and sideslip angles, Earth-centered inertial (ECI) to Earth-centered Earth-fixed (ECEF)

• Earth-centered inertial (ECI) coordinates and azimuth or geodetic latitude, longitude, altitude (LLA) coordinates

• Geocentric latitude and geodetic latitude

• Flat Earth positions from geodetic latitude, longitude, and altitude

Flight Simulation Interface Functions

Use flight simulator interface objects to visualize flight paths using FlightGear and input FlightGear data to models.

To use FlightGear to visualize flight paths, first install FlightGear software. For more information, see Aero.FlightGearAnimation.

Use Aero.FlightGearAnimation to create a FlightGear animation object. Use the object methods to work with the FlightGear object, such as:

• Clearing and deleting timer for animation of FlightGear flight simulator.

• Generating run scripts for FlightGear flight simulator.

• Animating FlightGear flight simulator using given position/angle time series.

• Updating position data to FlightGear animation object.

Here is an example of a flight trajectory from Create a Flight Animation from Trajectory Data.

Flight Instrument Functions

Use functions representing standard cockpit instruments to display flight status information from the application. Each function creates a cockpit instrument gauge that works with figures created with uifigure. After creating a flight instrument panel to contain these gauges, you can load them into MATLAB App Designer. To control the appearance and behavior of these cockpit instrument components, use the associated properties.

• uiaeroairspeed — Create airspeed indicator component.

• uiaeroaltimeter — Create altimeter component.

• uiaeroclimb — Create climb rate indicator component.

• uiaeroegt — Create exhaust gas temperature (EGT) indicator component.

• uiaeroheading — Create heading indicator component.

• uiaerohorizon — Create artificial horizon component.

• uiaerorpm — Create revolutions per minute (RPM) indicator component.

• uiaeroturn — Create turn coordinator component.

Here is an example of a flight instruments pane from Aerospace Flight Instruments in App Designer.

MATLAB Graphics-Based Animation

Use MATLAB graphics-based animation objects to visualize flight paths using MATLAB graphics software. These animation objects use the MATLAB timeseries object to visualize flight data.

• Aero.Animation — Visualize aerospace animation.

• Aero.Body — Create body object for use with animation object.

• Aero.Camera — Construct camera object for use with animation object.

• Aero.Geometry — Construct 3-D geometry for use with animation object.

Here is an example of a flight trajectory playback image from Overlaying Simulated and Actual Flight Data.

Related Topics

• Visualize Trajectory and Attitude