Real-time simulation

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Real-time simulation refers to a computer model of a physical system that can execute at the same rate as actual "wall clock" time. In other words, the computer model runs at the same rate as the actual physical system. For example, if a tank takes 10 minutes to fill in the real world, it would take 10 minutes to fill in the simulation as well.

Real-time simulation occurs commonly in computer gaming, but also is important in the industrial market for operator training and off-line controller tuning.^[1] Computer languages like LabVIEW, VisSim and Simulink allow quick creation of such real-time simulations and have connections to industrial displays and programmable logic controllers via OLE for process control or digital and analog I/O cards. Several real-time simulators are available on the market including xPC Target and RT-LAB for mechatronic systems, Simulink for power electronic simulation, and RTDS for power grid simulation.