Is it possible to integrate wireless communication with an EV power system model?

I am working on a project in Simulink where I am building an EV power system (powertrain) and I add sensors to record certain parameters, such as the battery voltage and current, and motor current. My main focus is to try and optimize a wireless communication link from this model to an external server, or even just model a wireless link that utilizes data from the sensors. I have struggled finding examples online which are relevant to this case, I'm new to the communications system toolbox of MATLAB hence any assistance or direction is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

[Ayush]

Hi Nihal,

Based on your query to gather some information or a high-level approach to integrate the EV powertrain in Simulink with the Communications System Toolbox. Here are the steps that can be looked upon for the same:

1. Model the EV powertrain in Simulink with essential components like the battery and electric motor, using Simscape and basic blocks for component interactions and sensor simulations.Please refer to the below documentation to know more about how to model a vehicle system in Simulink:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/autoblks/ug/explore-the-electric-vehicle-reference-application.html

[File Exchange] https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/104650-electric-vehicle-powertrain-modelling-using-simulink

2. Aggregate sensor data using Simulink's “Bus Creator” or “Mux blocks”, then encode this data for wireless transmission using MATLAB Function blocks for custom encoding. Please refer to the below documentation to know more about the Bus Creator or Mux blocks:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/simulink/slref/buscreator.html

https://www.mathworks.com/help/simulink/slref/mux.html

3. In Simulink, model a wireless communication link using the Communication System Toolbox, incorporating transmitter and receiver models with modulation, channel simulation, and performance analysis blocks. Please refer to the below documentation to know more about the “Propagation and Channel Models” crucial for vehicle systems:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/comm/propagation-and-channel-models.html?s_tid=CRUX_lftnav

4. Simulate external server communication in Simulink by using "To Workspace" or "To File" blocks for data storage, and employ MATLAB scripts for data processing and visualization, mimicking server-side operations. Please refer to the below documentation to know more about the “To Workspace” and “To File” blocks:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/simulink/slref/toworkspace.html

https://www.mathworks.com/help/simulink/slref/tofile.html

5. Optimize your wireless communication link by testing various modulation schemes and encoding methods, and refine your EV powertrain model for enhanced performance using insights from the transmitted data.

Hope this helps!

[Nihal Shaji]

Thank you so much, this really helps.