QUARC 2.6
These release notes describe the new features and changes introduced in QUARC 2.6. They are divided into the sections enumerated below.
New Software Compatibility
QUARC 2.6 has introduced compatibility with the following third-party software.
Compatibility with MATLAB, Simulink, and Simulink Coder R2016a has been added.
Compatibility with MATLAB, Simulink, and Simulink Coder R2016b has been added.
Compatibility with MATLAB, Simulink, and Simulink Coder R2017a has been added.
Compatibility with Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Professional Edition has been added.
New Targets
QUARC 2.6 now supports the following new targets.
The QUARC Linux DuoVero 2016 Target supports the newest Quanser embedded Linux targets. Refer to QUARC Linux DuoVero 2016 Target for details. This target is intended as a replacement for the QUARC Linux DuoVero Target. The QUARC Linux DuoVero 2016 Target supports both the Gumstix DuoVero Zephyr COM and the Gumstix DuoVero Zephyr-Y COM boards.
Improved Features
Some of the features improved in QUARC 2.6 are enumerated below. There are a great many miscellaneous improvements that have not been listed. Only some of the highlights are listed below.
X3D exporters for Autodesk 3DS Max 2014, 2015 and 2016 have been added.
The recommended version of the Force Dimension SDK software is now version 3.6.0. Installation instructions have been updated in the Force Dimension Write block and Force Dimension Read help pages.
Labels on the block parameters dialog for the HIL Initialize were getting clipped on MATLAB R2014b through R2016a due to a bug in MATLAB. A new HIL Initialize dialog has been implemented for these MATLAB versions to circumvent this bug.
The recommended version of the Leap Motion Desktop SDK software is now version 2.3.1+31549. Installation instructions have been updated in the Leap Motion block help page.
The Quanser NEES Daemon has been updated to use Java 8 (also known as 1.8) or above. Refer to the Quanser NEES Daemon help page for details.
The recommended version of the NaturalPoint's Motive software is now version 1.10.0 for 64-bit systems, or 1.9.0 for 32-bit systems. Installation instructions have been updated in the OptiTrack Point Cloud block and OptiTrack Trackables help pages.
The recommended version of the Point Grey Research's FlyCapture software is now version 2.10. Installation instructions have been updated in the PGR Grab Image block help.
The Stream Client and Stream Server blocks are now able to send variable-size signals even if the Send dimensions option is not checked. In this case, the variable-size signal value is sent but not the dimensions. This ability is useful for writing variable-size data to a file, for instance, when the sample boundaries are not required. For example, strings created using the String Print block could be sent to a text file this way.
The To Host File block now supports variable-size signals when the text or raw binary file formats are used.
The recommended version of the Vicon Tracker software is now version 3.3, and the Vicon DataStream SDK software is now version 1.6. Installation instructions have been updated in the Vicon block help page.
New Devices Supported
QUARC 2.6 may now interface to the devices listed below.
The Kinova 6-DOF MICO robot is now supported as an open-architecture robot. The Kinova 6-DOF MICO Read block reads the Kinova 6-DOF MICO joint angular positions, speeds, currents, torques and states. Conversely, the Kinova 6-DOF MICO Write block sends joint and finger position commands and PID controller gains to the Kinova 6-DOF MICO robot. The Kinova 6-DOF MICO Torque Reset block performs reset on the Kinova 6-DOF MICO robot torque sensors. It is especially useful when the Kinvoa 6-DOF MICO robot torque sensors have lost their calibration during transport.
The Kinova 6-DOF MICO blocks may be found under the QUARC Targets/Devices/Third-Party/Kinova/Robots/6-DOF MICO library.
The Point Grey Research FireflyMV Mono camera is now supported by the PGR Grab Image block. This camera provides grayscale images at similar resolution to the FireflyMV color camera.
The Point Grey Research Flea3 USB 3.0 color camera is now supported by the PGR Grab Image block. It captures video frames at 1280 x 1024 pixel resolution.
New Blocks
New blocks have been added to the QUARC Targets library in QUARC 2.6. The new blocks are listed below.
Devices Blocks
The Kinova 4-DOF MICO Torque Reset block performs reset on the Kinova 4-DOF MICO robot torque sensors. It is especially useful when the Kinvoa 4-DOF MICO robot torque sensors have lost their calibration during transport.
Image Processing Blocks
The Image Compress block compresses raw images. It can be used with the Video Display block to display images while reducing network bandwidth.
The Image Logic block applies a logic operation to images.
The Image Transform block applies a transformation to an image. The transformations are accelerated using SIMD instructions when available.
Math Operations Blocks
The Cross Product block computes the cross product of two 3-vectors.
The Norm block computes the 2-norm of an arbitrary length vector or quaternion.
The Norm Squared block computes the square of the 2-norm of an arbitrary length vector or quaternion.
The Normalize block scales a vector or quaternion to a unit vector or unit quaternion according to the 2-norm.
The Quaternion Conjugate block computes the conjugate of a quaternion.
The Quaternion from Angle and Axis block creates a quaternion from an axis/angle representation.
The Quaternion Inverse block computes the inverse of a quaternion.
The Quaternion Product block computes the product of two quaternions.
The Quaternion Rotate Vector block uses a quaternion to rotate a vector.
The Quaternion to Angle and Axis block converts a quaternion to an axis/angle representation.
The Quaternion to Transformation block converts a quaternion to a homogeneous transformation.
Multimedia Blocks
The Video Display block displays video in a window on the host. It has higher performance than the Display Image block. It also supports compressed images.
Multiwii Blocks
The Multiwii Connect block connects to an auto-pilot.
There are many other Multiwii blocks that are used to control the auto-pilot as well as get information from the auto-pilot. Refer to the individual blocks for details. The blocks are found under the QUARC Targets/Communications/Multiwii subsystem in the QUARC Targets library.
Deprecated Features
| Some of the previous QUARC features have been deprecated in QUARC 2.6, as mentioned below. Many of the deprecated features may continue to work, but are no longer supported and should be avoided. |
Data Acquisition Cards
Support for the Gumstix Robostix is deprecated along with the QUARC Linux Verdex Target which accommodated it.
MATLAB Versions No Longer Supported
MATLAB R2010b is no longer supported.
MATLAB R2011a is no longer supported.
MATLAB R2011b is no longer supported.
MATLAB R2012a is no longer supported.
MATLAB R2012b is no longer supported.
MATLAB R2013a is no longer supported.
MATLAB R2013b is no longer supported.
MATLAB R2014a is no longer supported.
QUARC Blocks
The Falcon block has been deprecated as the Novint HDAL SDK required to use it is no longer available online.
QUARC Target Type
The QUARC Linux Verdex (gumstix) Target type has been deprecated and should not be used in new models.
Bug Fixes
Some of the bug fixes in QUARC 2.6 are enumerated below. This list is not complete. Only some of the highlights are listed below.
On some versions of MATLAB, models using MAT-file logging did not compile. The MAT-file logging feature has now been fixed.
Fixed a race condition in which the PWM output final values of a Q8-USB series card were not always written when stopping a model.
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