Servo Control

This example shows how to use Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware to control a standard servo
motor.

Supported Hardware:
Arduino Esplora

Arduino Fio

Arduino Leonardo

Arduino Lilypad USB

Arduino Mega 2560

Arduino Mega ADK

Arduino Micro

Arduino Mini

Arduino Nano 3.0

Arduino Pro

Arduino Uno
Available versions of this example:
Arduino Mega 2560 board: arduinomega2560_servocontrol_sweep
The provided model is pre-configured for Arduino Mega 2560 and can be run on any of the borad listed in the
"Suppoerted Hardware" section, by changing the "Target Hardware" parameter in the configuration parameters
of the model as described in Task 1 of this example.
On this page

Introduction
Prerequisites
Required Hardware
Task 1 - Configure the Model for Supported Arduino Hardware
Task 2 - Connect the Servo Motor to the Arduino Board
Task 3 - Set the Servo Motor Position via an Internal Source
Task 4 - Control the Servo Motor Position via a Potentiometer
Task 5 - Control the Servo Motor Position via a Photocell
Other Things to Try
Summary
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 model that controls a standard servo motor. In a standard
servo motor, the shaft position can be precisely set, usually between 0 and 180 degrees. Servo motors are
used in many industrial, military and consumer applications and products.
Prerequisites
We recommend completing Getting Started with Arduino Hardware example.

Required Hardware
To run this example you will need the following hardware:

Supported Arduino board

USB cable

Standard servo motor

Potentiometer

CdS photocell

10 kOhm resistor

Breadboard wires

Small breadboard (recommended)

Task 1 - Configure the 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 Tools > Run on Target Hardware > Options... .
2. When the Configuration Parameters page opens up, set the Target hardware parameter to your required
Arduino hardware. Do not change any other settings.
3. Click OK.
Task 2 - Connect the Servo Motor to the Arduino Board
In this task, you will connect your motor to the Arduino board. Servo motors have three wires: power, ground,
and signal. Connect them as described below.
1. Connect the power wire (usually red) to the 5V pin.
2. Connect the ground wire (usually black) to the ground pin.
3. Connect the signal wire (usually orange) to digital pin 4. Refer to Pin Mapping on Arduino Blocks in the
documentation for supported pin numbers.

Task 3 - Set the Servo Motor Position via an Internal Source

In this task you will set the position of the servo motor shaft using an internal source. The shaft angle will vary
between 0 and 180 degrees, up and down.
1. Open the Servo Control model.
2. Notice the Standard Servo Write block. The block sets the new angle of the servo motor shaft every 0.01
second.
3. In your Simulink model, click Tools > Run on Target Hardware > Options .
4. When the Configuration Parameters page opens up, set the Target hardware parameter to supported
Arduino hardware which is connected to your computer. Do not change any other settings.
5. In your Simulink model, click the Deploy To Hardware button on the toolbar.

6. When the model starts running on the Arduino board, observe the motor shaft position sweeping between 0
and 180 degrees.
Task 4 - Control the Servo Motor Position via a Potentiometer
In this task you will set the position of the servo motor shaft manually, using a potentiometer. Connect the outer
potentiometer terminals to 5V and GND pins on your Arduino board. Connect the middle terminal to analog
input pin 0. As your rotate the potentiometer, its resistance changes. As a result, the voltage at the analog
input pin changes as well. Your task is to set the servo motor angle proportional to this voltage.

1. In MATLAB, select HOME > New > Simulink Model.

2. Enter simulink at the MATLAB prompt. This opens the Simulink Library Browser.

3. In the Simulink Library Browser, navigate to Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware >
Common.
4. Drag the Analog Input block into the model. Double-click the block and set the Pin number to 0, and
the Sample time to 0.01 second.
5. Drag the Standard Servo Write block into the model. Double-click the block and set the Pin number to 4.
6. Connect the Analog Input and the Standard Servo Write blocks.
7. From Simulink Math Operations library, drag the Gain block into the model and drop it on the line connecting
theAnalog Input and the Standard Servo Write block. Double-click the Gain block and set its value to 0.1760
(maximum servo motor displacement in degrees divided by analog input digital resolution i.e. 180/1023).
8. In your Simulink model, click Tools > Run on Target Hardware > Prepare To Run... .
9. When the Configuration Parameters page opens up, set the Target hardware parameter to supported
Arduino hardware. Do not change any other settings.
10. Click OK.
11. In your Simulink model, click the Deploy To Hardware button on the toolbar. The model will now be
deployed to the Arduino hardware.
12. When the model starts running on Arduino board, observe the motor shaft sweeping between 0 and 180
degrees.
If you have trouble creating the model as described above, you can use the Servo Control model.
Task 5 - Control the Servo Motor Position via a Photocell
In this task you will create a model that sets the position of the servo motor according to light intensity detected
by a photocell. In a dark room the motor shaft should be positioned at 0 degrees, while in a bright room it
should be positioned at 180 degrees.
Use a photocell and a resistor instead of the potentiometer you used in Task 4. Connect one end of the
photocell to the 5V pin on the Arduino board. Next, connect one end of the resistor to the GND pin on the
board. Connect the other ends of the photocell and the resistor together and then to the analog input pin 0 on
the board.

The model will be similar to the one used in Task 4.

Other Things to Try
Experiment with other blocks in the Arduino block library. For example:

Use Digital Input block to adjust the motor shaft position depending on the external control signal or signals.
Use Standard Servo Read block to read the motor shaft position and compare it with the desired position.
Summary
This example showed you how to use Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware to control a standard
servo motor. In this example you learned that:

Standard Servo Write block allows you to set the servo motor shaft position, usually in the range from 0 to 180
degrees.

Analog Input block measures the voltage applied to an Arduino analog input pin. Variety of sensors can be
attached to analog pins.

Getting Started with Arduino Hardware

This example shows how to use Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware to run a Simulink model on
Arduino board.

Supported Hardware:
Arduino Esplora

Arduino Fio

Arduino Leonardo

Arduino Lilypad USB

Arduino Mega 2560

Arduino Mega ADK

Arduino Micro

Arduino Mini

Arduino Nano 3.0

Arduino Pro

Arduino Uno
Available versions of this example:
Arduino Mega 2560 board: arduinomega2560_gettingstarted
The provided model is pre-configured for Arduino Mega 2560 and can be run on any of the borad listed in the
"Suppoerted Hardware" section, by changing the "Target Hardware" parameter in the configuration parameters
of the model as described in Task 4 of this example.
On this page

Introduction
Prerequisites
Required Hardware
Model
Task 1 - Connect an LED to an Arduino Output Pin
Task 2 - Review Arduino Block Library
Task 3 - Create a Model for Arduino Hardware
Task 4 - Configure and Run the Model on Supported Arduino Hardware
Other Things to Try
Summary
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. Additionally, the target enables you to monitor and tune algorithms
running on Arduino board from the same Simulink models from which you developed the algorithms.
In this example you will learn how to create and run a simple Simulink model on Arduino board. See other
examples for Arduino board to learn how to use External mode and to learn how to implement more complex
algorithms.
Prerequisites

If you are new to Simulink, we recommend completing Interactive Simulink Tutorial, reading the Getting Started
section of the Simulink documentation and running Simulink Getting Started example.
Required Hardware
To run this example you will need the following hardware:

Supported Arduino board

USB cable

LED

220 Ohm resistor

Breadboard wires

Small breadboard (recommended)

Model
The following figure shows the example model:

Task 1 - Connect an LED to an Arduino Output Pin

In this task, you will connect an LED to an Arduino output pin so you can see changes in the logical state of the
pin.
1. Attach one end of the 220 Ohm resistor to output pin 9 on the Arduino board. Use the recommended
breadboard and the breadboard wires.
2. Attach the long leg (positive) of the LED to the resistor. Attach the short leg (negative) to the ground pin on
the Arduino board.

Task 2 - Review Arduino Block Library

Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware provides an easy way to create algorithms that use Arduino
sensors and actuators by using the blocks that can be added to your Simulink model. The blocks are used to
configure the associated sensors and actuators, as well as to read and write data to them.
1. Enter simulink at the MATLAB prompt. This opens the Simulink Library Browser.
2. In the Simulink Library Browser, navigate to Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware >
Common.
3. Double-click the Digital Output block. Review the block mask, which contains a description of the block and
parameters for configuring the associated Arduino digital output pin.

Task 3 - Create a Model for Arduino Hardware

In this task, you will create a simple Simulink model that changes the state of the Arduino digital output pin.
1. In MATLAB, select HOME > New > Simulink Model.
2. Drag the Pulse Generator block from the Simulink Sources library to your model.
3. Double-click the Pulse Generator block. Set the Pulse type to parameter to Sample based and set
the Sample time parameter to 0.1 second.
4. Drag the Digital Output block to the model. Use the default block settings.
5. Connect the Pulse Generator block to the Digital Output block.
Task 4 - Configure and Run the Model on Supported Arduino Hardware
In this task, you will configure and run your model on the supported Arduino board.
1. Connect the Arduino board to your computer with a USB cable.
2. In your Simulink model, click Tools > Run on Target Hardware > Prepare To Run... .
3. When the Configuration Parameters page opens up, set the Target hardware parameter to supported
Arduino hardware which is connected to your computer. Do not change any other settings.
4. Click OK.
5. In your Simulink model, click the Deploy To Hardware button on the toolbar. The model will now be
deployed to the connected Arduino hardware.
6. Look at the LED attached to pin 9. The LED should blink one time every second.
7. Save your model.
A pre-configured model is included for your convenience.
Other Things to Try
Experiment with other blocks in the Arduino block library. For example:

Create and run a model that turns the LED on if a signal is applied to a digital input pin.

Create and run a model that repeatedly brightens and dims an LED. Hint: use the PWM block.
Summary

This example introduced the workflow for creating an algorithm from a Simulink model and then running it on
the supported Arduino board. In this example you learned that:

Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware provides blocks for configuring, reading from and writing to
Arduino sensors and actuators.

You can use the Deploy To Hardware button to configure and run the model on supported Arduino board.

MATLAB Command
You clicked a link that corresponds to this MATLAB command:
arduinomega2560_gettingstarted
Run the command by entering it in the MATLAB Command Window. Web browsers do not support MATLAB
commands.