QUARC: Learning By Doing

If a picture is worth a thousand words then the newly augmented and improved QuaRC demos are worth volumes. The soon-to-be-released QUARC 1.2 contains a lot more hands-on demonstrations and example models to quickly and efficiently get new and experienced users started with QUARC's general operating principles, as well as provide a broad overview of QUARC's more advanced features. These demonstrations serve as preliminaries to a more in-depth investigation, on an as-needed basis, as they contain hyperlinks leading to the corresponding pages of the comprehensive QuaRC reference documentation (integrated with the MATLAB Contents pages). The QuaRC demos are also fully integrated with the MATLAB help browser (under the Demos tab) and provide the user with an effective way to test her or his software installation and configuration as well as the associated hardware.

For instance, the QUARC demonstration examples illustrate the following:

• how to run one or several models on one of the QUARC targets, i.e., Windows, QNX x86, or gumstix Verdex (Linux ARM)


• extensive (client/server) communication examples, either between two QUARC models or between one model and an user-developed application


• various ways to carry-out data logging


• how to interface to devices and hardware (e.g., HIL cards)


• how to create GUIs interfacing to a QuaRC model


• QUARC seamless integration with Simulink and its toolboxes (e.g., Model Referencing, Virtual Reality Toolbox)


• running and interacting with a QUARC model using a MATLAB scipt


• measuring a QUARC model's performance (e.g., timing, computation time)


• dynamic reconfiguration module

As also reflected by most of Quanser's product line, the QUARC demonstrations are just another illustration of the learning-by-doing concept, that we at Quanser strongly believe in. There are of course many more example models installed with QUARC 1.2, so any QUARC user should really experience it for herself or himself.