dSPACE Interface Blockset for ROS

Connecting dSPACE real-time systems to the Robot Operating System (ROS)

The dSPACE Interface Blockset for ROS provides an easy-to-use method to exchange data between dSPACE real-time systems and ROS.  

  • Simulink® blockset for easy communication between dSPACE platforms and ROS
  • Support of both ROS 1 and ROS 2
  • Creation of ROS messages from within Simulink
  • Import of existing ROS message files

Application Areas

Functions for advanced driving assistance systems and autonomous driving (ADAS/AD) require multiple heterogeneous data streams such as cameras, radar, and lidar. The Robot Operating System (ROS) is an open source framework that is widely used for prototyping these ADAS/AD functions. Through the dSPACE Interface Blockset for ROS, the power of hard real-time prototyping and testing offered by the dSPACE PC-based simulation platform VEOS and real-time hardware (MicroAutoBox and SCALEXIO) is combined with the ROS benefits for perception and sensor fusion prototyping.

Key Benefits

The dSPACE Interface Blockset for ROS provides an easy-to-use method to exchange data between dSPACE real-time systems and ROS. The blockset contains a collection of blocks to manage diverse tasks. It allows for setting up basic parameters, updating the ROS Interface and importing ROS messages, in addition to the core functionality of publishing ROS topics by encoding Simulink® buses to UDP1) (User Datagram Protocol) packages, and subscribing to ROS topics by decoding UDP1) packages into Simulink buses.

Functionality Description
General
  • Easy-to-use interface between dSPACE platforms and ROS
  • Use of existing ROS messages or creation of ROS messages in Simulink
  • Automatic creation of ROS gateway nodes
  • Support of ROS built-in data types, standard and custom messages
  • Full dSPACE platform support
Supported ROS versions
  • ROS 1: Melodic Morenia, Kinetic Kame
  • ROS 2: Eloquent Elusor, Dashing Diademata, Crystal Clemmys
Limitations
  • Variable Vector Size requires specification of maximum size
  • Maximum message size limited to 64k because UDP is used

1) Because UDP is used for communication, an additional Ethernet blockset for the desired platform is required.

RTMaps Intempora's development environment for multisensor applications (ADAS, robotics, multimodal HMIs, etc.) VEOS Platform for PC-based simulation MicroAutoBox II Compact, stand-alone prototyping unit with real-time hardware, I/O, and signal conditioning MicroAutoBox III Compact and robust in-vehicle prototyping system SCALEXIO Modular real-time system for RCP and HIL applications
  • dSPACE Interface Blockset for ROS Product Information, PDF, English, 219 KB

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