Getting Started with Wi-Fi on Arduino Hardware

Introduction

Simulink Support Package for Arduino hardware enables you to create and run Simulink models on Arduino board. The target includes a library of Simulink blocks for configuring and accessing Arduino sensors, actuators, and communication interfaces.

In this example, you will learn how to create Simulink models receiving TCP/IP or UDP messages from a remote host and sending TCP/IP or UDP messages to a remote host, identified with a unique IP address and port number.

The host model uses the blocks from the Instrument Control Toolbox to send and receive TCP/IP or UDP messages to the target hardware.

Prerequisites

Before you start with this example, we recommend you complete the Getting Started with Arduino Hardware example.

Required Hardware

To run this example you will need the following hardware:

Note that Arduino MKR1000 and MKR WiFi 1010 have an on-board WiFi chip so no need to connect a WiFi Shield or ESP8266.

Configuring WiFi hardware

In this task, you will configure the WiFi hardware. The WiFi functionality can be used with Simulink Support Package for Arduino hardware by either of the following:

Arduino board with WiFi Shield

1. Connect the WiFi Shield on the Arduino board.

2. Connect a USB cable from the PC to the Arduino board.

For more details on connecting the Arduino to WiFi Shield, refer to Connect Arduino WiFi Shield to Arduino Hardware.

Arduino board with ESP8266

1. Connect the ESP8266 to the Arduino board.

2. Connect a USB cable from the PC to the Arduino board.

For more details on connecting the Arduino to ESP8266, refer to Connect ESP8266 to Arduino Hardware.

Arduino MKR1000 and Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 boards

1. Connect a USB cable from the PC to the Arduino MKR1000 or Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 board.

The Arduino MKR1000 and MKR WiFi 1010 have an on-board WiFi chip. They can be used directly without any additional WiFi hardware.

Configure Network Properties for Host Machine and WiFi hardware

For configuring the IP Address for the host machine and the WiFi hardware refer to Configure Network Settings for WiFi.

Task 1 - Configure Simulink Model for Supported Arduino Hardware

You will perform this task if your Arduino board is not Arduino Mega 2560 hardware.

In this task, you will configure the model for the supported Arduino board.

1. In your Simulink model, click Simulation > Model Configuration Parameters to open Configuration Parameters dialog.

2. Select the Hardware Implementation pane and select your required Arduino hardware from the Hardware board parameter list. Do not change any other settings.

3. Click OK.

Task 2 - Sending TCP/IP Data Over WiFi Using Arduino Hardware

This example shows how to use Simulink Support Package for Arduino hardware to send TCP/IP messages over WiFi using an Arduino board.

Models involved in the demo

1. Target model running on the Arduino hardware: Arduino TCP/IP Send.

2. Simulink host model: TCP/IP Host Receive.

Run the Model configured for the target on the hardware

1. Open the Arduino TCP/IP Send model.

2. Perform Task 1 if your Arduino board is not Arduino Mega 2560 hardware.

3. On the Hardware tab of the Simulink model, in the Mode section, select Run on board and then click Build, Deploy & Start.

Run the host model to receive data from the target model

1. Open the TCP/IP Host Receive model. Double-click on the TCP/IP Receive block. Make sure that the IP address and port number are matching the WiFi settings specified earlier to ensure that the data is received from the correct target hardware.

2. In the Simulation tab of the Simulink model, click Run. The scope should display the data (a ramp signal and a pulse) being sent from the target hardware.

Task 3 - Receiving TCP/IP Data Over WiFi with Arduino Hardware

This task shows how to use Simulink Support Package for Arduino hardware to receive TCP/IP messages over WiFi using an Arduino board.

Models involved in the demo

1. Target model running on the Arduino hardware: Arduino TCP/IP Receive.

2. Simulink host model: TCP/IP Host Send.

Run the model configured for the target on the hardware

1. Open the Arduino TCP/IP Receive model.

2. Perform Task 1 if your Arduino board is not Arduino Mega 2560 hardware.

3. On the Hardware tab of the Simulink model, in the Mode section, select Run on board and then click Build, Deploy & Start.

Run the host model to send data to the target model

1. Open the TCP/IP Host Send model. Double-click on the TCP/IP Send block. Make sure that the IP address and port number are matching the WiFi settings earlier specified to ensure that the data is sent to the correct target hardware.

2. The target model running on Arduino board will receive data from TCP/IP and send it back to the serial port for monitoring and debugging. You can use a serial monitor or hyperterminal on the host machine to watch the serial data coming back from the target.

3. Note that the WiFi TCP /IP Receive block is operating in blocking mode as Advanced > Wait until data received check box is checked. So when there is no incoming data you can see print statements in serial monitor or hyperterminal are slower.

4. In the Simulation tab of the Simulink model, click Run to start running the host model.

5. At this point, TCP/IP data is sent from the host to the target and serial data is sent back from the target to the host. You should be able to see the print statements in serial monitor or hyperterminal as soon as the target receives data i.e. no blocking.

Task 4 - Sending UDP Data Over WiFi Using Arduino Hardware

This example shows how to use Simulink Support Package for Arduino hardware to send UDP messages over WiFi using an Arduino board.

Models involved in the demo

1. Target model running on the Arduino hardware: Arduino UDP Send.

2. Simulink host model: UDP Host receive.

Run the Model configured for the target on the hardware

1. Open the Arduino UDP Send model.

2. Perform Task 1 if your Arduino board is not Arduino Mega 2560 hardware.

3. On the Hardware tab of the Simulink model, in the Mode section, select Run on board and then click Build, Deploy & Start.

Run the host model to receive data from the target model

1. Open the UDP Host receive model. Double-click on the UDP Receive block. Make sure that the port number is matching the WiFi Shield settings specified earlier to ensure that the data is received from the correct target hardware.

2. In the Simulation tab of the Simulink model, click Run. The scope should display the data (a ramp signal and a pulse) being sent from the target hardware.

Task 5 - Receiving UDP Data Over WiFi Using Arduino Hardware

This task shows how to use Simulink Support Package for Arduino hardware to receive UDP messages over WiFi using an Arduino board.

Models involved in the demo

1. Target model running on the Arduino Mega 2560: Arduino Mega 2560 UDP Receive.

2. Simulink host model: UDP Host Send.

Run the model configured for the target on the hardware

1. Open the Arduino Mega 2560 UDP Receive model.

2. Perform Task 1 if your Arduino board is not Arduino Mega 2560 hardware.

3. In the Simulation tab of the Simulink model, click Run to run the model in External mode.

Run the host model to send data to the target model

1. Open the UDP Host Send model. Double-click on the UDP Send block. Make sure that the IP address and port number are matching the WiFi settings specified earlier to ensure that the data is sent to the correct target hardware.

2. The target model running on the Arduino hardware will receive data from UDP. In External mode you can see the data and size displayed on the Display blocks. Initially when no data is received Data and Size both are 0.

3. In the Simulation tab of the Simulink model, click Run to start running the host model. Note that this model sends an array of int16 values.

4. At this point, UDP data is sent from the host to the target. You can see that the Data and Size output values changing corresponding to the received data.