FPGA in the Loop with Simulink: What It Is and How It Works

FPGA in the Loop (FIL) with Simulink is a testing method where your Simulink model runs together with an actual FPGA hardware. It lets you verify and test your design on real hardware while still using Simulink for simulation and control.

How It Works

Imagine you are designing a complex electronic system using Simulink. Instead of just simulating everything on your computer, FPGA in the Loop connects your Simulink model to a real FPGA chip. This means part of your design runs on the FPGA hardware, while the rest runs in Simulink.

This setup works like a relay race: Simulink sends data to the FPGA, the FPGA processes it in real-time, and then sends results back to Simulink. This back-and-forth lets you see how your design behaves on actual hardware, catching issues that pure simulation might miss.

It’s like testing a car engine on a real test bench instead of just imagining how it runs. You get real feedback and can make better design decisions early.

Example

This example shows how to set up a simple FPGA in the Loop test in Simulink using HDL Workflow Advisor.

matlab

model = 'fil_example_model';
open_system(model);

% Set up HDL Workflow Advisor for FPGA in the Loop
hdlworkflowadvisor(model);

% Run the workflow steps to generate FPGA bitstream and connect
% to FPGA hardware for testing

% Simulate the model with FPGA in the Loop
sim(model);

Output

Simulating model 'fil_example_model' with FPGA in the Loop...
Simulation completed successfully.

When to Use

Use FPGA in the Loop with Simulink when you want to test your FPGA design on real hardware early in the development process. It helps find hardware-specific bugs and performance issues that simulations alone might miss.

Common use cases include:

• Verifying signal processing algorithms on FPGA hardware
• Testing control systems that interact with physical devices
• Accelerating design validation by running parts of the model on FPGA
• Ensuring your HDL code works correctly before final deployment

Key Points

• FPGA in the Loop connects Simulink models with real FPGA hardware for testing.
• It enables real-time data exchange between Simulink and FPGA.
• Helps catch hardware-specific issues early.
• Uses HDL Workflow Advisor to generate FPGA code and manage testing.
• Ideal for validating designs before final hardware deployment.

Key Takeaways

FPGA in the Loop lets you test Simulink designs on real FPGA hardware.

It provides real-time interaction between simulation and hardware.

Use it to find hardware bugs and improve design confidence early.

HDL Workflow Advisor helps automate FPGA code generation and testing.

Ideal for signal processing, control systems, and hardware validation.