Press Release

Simulink® Users Can Now Take Advantage of RT-LAB™ XSG to Reach 200 kHz Model Sampling with Opteron™ Dual-Core and 2 MHz with Xilinx® System Generator

MONTREAL, November 16, 2005 - Opal-RT Technologies Inc. (www.opal-rt.com), the world leader in Simulink® distributed real-time simulation on PC-based platforms, today introduces RT-LAB XSG, a new generation of wideband multi-processor engineering simulators reaching supercomputer performance for hard real-time simulation applications. RT-LAB XSG simulators integrate one or more dual-core AMD Opteron 64-bit processors, high-end Xilinx FPGA, fast OP5100 input-output interfaces and RedHawk, Real-Time Linux, with Simulink and multi-domain simulation tools such as Dymola, AMESim and CarSim.

Simulation sampling frequency can reach 200 kHz (5 µs) for complex models executed on several Opteron processors and up to 2 MHz (500 nanos) for model components executed on re-configurable FPGA processors. Models developed under Simulink are automatically downloaded to several Opteron and FPGA processors using RTW and Auto Code code generators, Xilinx System Generators (SG) and RT-LAB. Xilinx SG automatically transforms Simulink models into code running on FPGAs. RT-LAB automatically splits the initial models into several sub-models, generates the code using RTW and Xilinx SG, loads the models on to the specified processors and manages data communications between AMD and FPGA processors as well as I/O interfaces, data logging and performance monitoring.

This powerful technology enables Opal-RT to offer compact multi-rate wideband simulators capable of reaching unprecedented flexibility in terms of simulation fidelity, scalability, computational power and ability to simulate full vehicles, aircraft, spacecraft, robotics and industrial systems as well as fleets of unmanned aircraft and ground vehicles.

A distributed power electronic energy generation and distribution system installed on board aircrafts, all-electric warships, off-highway and military vehicles can be simulated in real-time or faster over a wide frequency range. Model components with time constants larger than about 10 microseconds are executed on the Opteron processors while models requiring model update time as low as 100 nanoseconds are executed on FPGAs. Steady state and slow electro-mechanical dynamic phenomenon can then be simulated simultaneously with the detailed simulation of high-speed voltage and current transients produced by fast switching devices.

RT-LAB XSG can be scaled from a single FPGA board up to very large 16- or 64-AMD processors/FPGA clusters. Processors communicate through AMD HyperTransport™ inter-processor on-board communication technologies and 20-Gbits/s InfiniBand communication fabrics for inter-computer communication.

A single FPGA board connected to fast I/Os can be used for the simulation of intelligent sensors, actuators, and power electronic motor drives, including the IGBT converter and motor model. A single-FPGA board interfaced with a single-processor, Pentium M or Athlon board, can implement complex prototype controllers having multi-level multi-rate control loops. Large PC clusters can be used to simulate very complex systems requiring the simultaneous simulation of several interconnected systems such as those expected in large aircraft, spacecraft and all-electric warships.

“This intelligent integration, of the most powerful processors and communication technologies with popular visual simulation tools, offers a new degree of freedom to engineers and scientists facing the challenges of integrating complex systems,” said Jean Bélanger, President and CTO of Opal-RT.

Available now, RT-LAB XSG also supports Pentium Xeon, Pentium M and Athlon processors. AMD Opteron dual-core has been under test since June 2005 using IWILL dual-processor (4 cores) boards and offers the maximum performance.

About Opal-RT Technologies Inc.
Opal-RT provides software, hardware, and related solutions for real-time simulation applications, with the aim of enabling real-time parallel processing through flexible, scalable and affordable technologies.

The company offers a full range of engineering simulation products - from enabling technologies to turnkey engineering simulators - and professional consulting services that include systems integration, software development, simulation and modeling, problem-solving, and training. Opal-RT's core expertise is in distributed hard-real-time simulation, with experienced engineers designing real-time simulators for automotive, electrical power, aerospace, defense, robotics, and industrial applications where fidelity and fault tolerance requirements push rapid prototyping and hardware-in-the-loop testing to their limits. Opal-RT's unique approach integrates parallel, distributed computing with commercial-off-the-shelf technologies. The resulting RT-LAB product range enables customers to develop products using simulation quickly, easily, affordably, and competitively. For more information about Opal-RT's range of Engineering Simulators and Distributed Processing Tools, see www.opal-rt.com.

About RT-LAB
RT-LAB is the real-time technology that revolutionizes the way model-based design is performed within the engineering organization. Through its openness, RT-LAB has the flexibility to be applied to any simulation and control problem, with scalability providing a low-risk entry point for any application, allowing the developer to add computational power where and when needed-whether to dramatically speed up simulations or for real-time hardware-in-the-loop applications.

Contact

Kirsty Whitefield
Tel: 1-877-935-2323, x235
Email: kirsty.whitefield@opal-rt.com

RT-LAB, RT-LAB XSG, OP5100 and SignalWire are registered trademarks of Opal-RT Technologies Inc.
Opteron, Athlon and HyperTransport are registered trademarks of AMD
Pentium Xeon and Pentium M are registered trademarks of Intel
Xilinx System Generator is a registered trademark of Xilinx
RedHawk is a registered trademark of Concurrent Computer Corp.
Simulink is a registered trademark of The Mathworks
AMESim is a registered trademark of IMAGINE
Dymola is a registered trademark of Dynasim
CarSim is a registered trademark of Mechanical Simulation Corporation
©2005 Opal-RT Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.