Guy on Simulink

Simulink & Model-Based Design

Simulink Easter Eggs

With Easter just a few days away, we thought it was a good time to share some little known Easter eggs that exist in Simulink.

Philosophical Annotations

Many MATLAB users are aware of the interesting response you can get by typing WHY in the command prompt. But, did you know that Simulink Annotations offer similar behavior? Fans of a certain science fiction series might appreciate this one.


Appreciation for Irrational Numbers that are Homophones for Baked Goods

We have a deep appreciation for pi (and for pie). I was recently told that if you string enough of the digits of pi in a series of gain blocks, you could achieve some interesting results. That sounded like a lot of work, so I wrote a script using add_block to construct the model. In the end, the result was definitely interesting.



% Initialize based on current selected block
lastBlock = get_param(gcb,'Name');
blockPos = get_param(gcb,'Position');

for ii = 1:100
    % Calculate next digit of pi
    lastDigit = rem(floor(pi*power(10,ii-1)),10);

    % Generate a new block
    blockPos = blockPos+[50 0 50 0];
    newBlock = sprintf('Gain%d',ii);
    newGain = add_block('built-in/Gain',[gcs,'/',newBlock],'Position',blockPos);

    % Populate value and connect
    lastBlock = newBlock;

Little-known Support Package

There are many Support Packages available through the Add-Ons button in the MATLAB toolstrip. Some users have stumbled upon the Advanced Support Package. We can’t reveal the installation steps, but you can see it in action below.


Wait, What Day is it Today?

When you save your Simulink model, the time and date are stored in the Model Properties. Did you also know that on certain dates, an additional comment gets added to the Model History? For example, here’s what you might see if you saved your model today, April 1st.

April Fools!

Now It's Your Turn

What are the best April Fools jokes you've played using Simulink?

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