Instrument Control Toolbox 2.9

Supported Hardware - Serial

MATLAB and Simulink support the serial protocol through the Instrument Control Toolbox.

MATLAB is an ideal software environment for communicating with devices that provide a serial interface including RS-232. There are many devices with serial interfaces, including gas chronometers, mass spectrometers, imaging devices, pulse oximeters, and instruments.

Instrument Control Toolbox provides a graphical tool, called Test & Measurement Tool, which allows you to communicate with, configure, and transfer data with your serial device without writing code.  This tool generates MATLAB code for your serial device that you can reuse later to communicate with your device or use to develop GUI-based applications. Of course, you can also communicate with your serial device in MATLAB using MATLAB script.

Download the MATLAB serial code example to get started using MATLAB to communicate with your serial device.

Download the Simulink serial example model to get started using Simulink to communicate with your serial device.

Another benefit of using Instrument Control Toolbox with your serial device is the ability to use the tools provided by the toolbox to create your own software drivers and encapsulate lower level serial commands into higher level commands that are easier to access.

Additional Information

• Read the technical article featured in the May 2007 MATLAB Digest: "Configuring and Controlling External Hardware in MATLAB". Download the MATLAB scripts shown in this MATLAB Digest article.
• View the recorded webinar: "Controlling Instruments and Serial Devices with MATLAB and Simulink"

Provide Feedback

Please use the form below to tell us about the serial device you are using, the type of application you want to develop, or if there is information about serial devices you would find helpful on this Web page.