Quanser Aero 2

The Quanser Aero 2 is an integrated lab experiment. It is designed to help teach fundamental control concepts and theories on an easy-to-use and intuitive platform. The Quanser Aero 2 is also suitable for advanced aerospace research applications. For more information, visit the Quanser website for the Quanser Aero 2.

The QUARC driver name for this card is quanser_aero2_usb.

• 2 single-ended analog input channels, 12-bit, ±3A
• 4 single-ended encoder input channels, 5V
• 2 single-ended analog outputs, ±24V
• 6 digital inputs
• 2 digital outputs
• 3 other outputs to drive RGB LED panel
• Integrated with MATLAB/Simulink/Simulink Coder via Quanser QUARC

To select the Quanser Aero 2 HIL board, pass quanser_aero_usb as the card type argument to the hil_open function.

The Quanser Aero 2 I/O channels are described below.

Clocks

There are currently no configuration options for the Quanser Aero 2 clocks.

Analog Inputs

The Quanser Aero 2 supports two analog inputs. The analog inputs measure the current to each motor in Amperes. Their maximum range is ±3A. Channel 0 is the current sense for motor 0 and channel 1 is the current sense for motor 1.

Analog Outputs

The Quanser Aero 2 supports two analog outputs. The analog outputs drive the motor voltages. Their maximum range is ±24V. Channel 0 drives motor 0 and channel 1 drives motor 1.

Digital Inputs

The Quanser Aero 2 supports six digital inputs, which are used for diagnostics. The digital inputs are enumerated in the table below.

In the event of a stall error, the motor's corresponding digital output channel must be toggled in order to properly clear the fault and resume actuation.

Digital Outputs

The Quanser Aero 2 supports two digital outputs. The digital outputs act as enables for the motor drive circuitry. Channel 0 enables motor 0 and channel 1 enables motor 1. When the output is low, the corresponding motor is disabled. When the output is high, the corresponding motor amplifier is enabled.

Encoder Inputs

The Quanser Aero 2 supports four encoder inputs. Each channel provides a 24-bit count value. All channels only support 4X quadrature mode.

In order to set the encoder counters to a particular count value, use the hil_set_encoder_counts function.

The encoder inputs are sampled simultaneously when measured using a single hil_read or hil_read_encoder call.

PWM Outputs

The Quanser Aero 2 card does not support PWM outputs.

Other Inputs

The Quanser Aero 2 supports ten other input channel, which are enumerated in the table below:

Other Outputs

The Quanser Aero 2 supports three other output channels, allowing the color of the LED panel to be controlled. Note that each channel supports fractional values between 0 and 1, allowing full RGB color. Refer to the table below for a list of the channels:

Interrupts

The Quanser Aero 2 card, or its driver, does not support any interrupt sources.

Watchdog

The Quanser Aero 2 supports a watchdog timer for resetting the outputs on watchdog expiry. Namely, the analog, digital and other output channels will be reset to the user-defined values on watchdog expiry. Resetting of the outputs occurs without software intervention, and therefore may be used as a safety mechanism in the event of software failure.

To enable the watchdog, use the hil_watchdog_start function. Be sure to reload the watchdog periodically using the hil_watchdog_reload function to prevent the watchdog from expiring.

To configure the values to which the output channels are reset on watchdog expiry, use the hil_watchdog_set_analog_expiration_state, hil_watchdog_set_digital_expiration_state and hil_watchdog_set_other_expiration_state functions to set the analog, digital and other output values on watchdog expiration respectively.

Once the watchdog has expired, further I/O on the outputs is disabled until the watchdog state is cleared.

Use the hil_watchdog_clear function to clear the watchdog state. Note that stopping the watchdog does not clear the watchdog state. The watchdog state must be cleared explicitly.

Board-Specific Options

The Quanser Aero 2 card does not support any board-specific options.

Properties

The Quanser Aero 2 driver currently supports the following read-only properties:

Targets

See Also

• Supported Quanser Cards

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