QUARC: Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) Card Support and HIL API

QuaRC, Quanser's real-time control software has in place a generic and card-independent framework called the Quanser Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) framework, which is completely open-architecture and made available externally by its Application Programming Interface (API). This Quanser HIL API is used to access any of the QUARC-supported data acquisition cards in a user-developed QUARC-independent application. Therefore, it makes any HIL card fully accessible from applications external to QUARC. It is installed as part of QUAC. Example uses of the Quanser HIL API include, data being read from or written to a HIL device, as well as creating an application performing automated hardware testing.

The Quanser HIL API is development environment independent as it is currently fully implemented in:

• C/C++
  

• .NET languages


• MATLAB


• LabVIEW

This QUARC HIL framework has already been applied to a wide variety of cards from diverse vendors (e.g., Quanser, National Instruments, Sensoray, etc.). As a consequence, we are often asked what the HIL cards currently supported by QUARC are. Even though this list is continuously growing as more support to additional cards is being added on an on-going basis, the following summarizes the HIL cards currently supported by our latest version of QUARC, QUARC 1.2.

The HIL cards listed below are supported, at present, when using either the QuaRC Windows (32-bit) Target or the QUARC QNX x86 Target:

• Quanser Q4
  

• Quanser Q8

The HIL cards listed below are supported, at present, when using the QUARC Linux ARM (gumstix) Target:

• Quanser HiQ Aero


• Gumstix Robostix


• Gumstix Verdex

The HIL cards listed below are supported, at present, when using the QUARC Windows (32-bit) Target:

• Quanser Q3 ControlPaQ-FW


• Sensoray Model 626, a.k.a., MultiQ-PCI


• National Instruments DAQCard-6024e


• National Instruments DAQCard-6062e


• National Instruments DAQCard-6715


• National Instruments PCI-6023e


• National Instruments PCI-6024e


• National Instruments PCI-6032e


• National Instruments PCI-6034e


• National Instruments PCI-6035e


• National Instruments PCI-6036e


• National Instruments PCI-6040e


• National Instruments PCI-6052e


• National Instruments PCI-6220


• National Instruments PCI-6221


• National Instruments PCI-6221 (37-pin)


• National Instruments PCI-6224


• National Instruments PCI-6225


• National Instruments PCI-6229


• National Instruments PCI-6230


• National Instruments PCI-6232


• National Instruments PCI-6233


• National Instruments PCI-6236


• National Instruments PCI-6238


• National Instruments PCI-6239


• National Instruments PCI-6250


• National Instruments PCI-6251


• National Instruments PCI-6254


• National Instruments PCI-6255


• National Instruments PCI-6259


• National Instruments PCI-6280


• National Instruments PCI-6281


• National Instruments PCI-6284


• National Instruments PCI-6289


• National Instruments PCI-6722


• National Instruments PCI-6723


• National Instruments PCIe-6251


• National Instruments PCIe-6259


• National Instruments USB-6211


• National Instruments USB-6215


• National Instruments USB-6251

Finally and as a sneak preview, the HIL cards listed below have just been added to QUARC and will be part of the augmented HIL support available in QUARC’s next release:

• National Instruments PCI-6711


• National Instruments PCI-6713


• National Instruments PCI-6731


• National Instruments PCI-6733