Engineering Simulations
Founded in 1984, MathWorks is the creator of MATLAB ®, a programming environment for numerical computation, data visualization, and algorithm development, and Simulink ®, a block diagram environment for model-based design of engineered systems. Engineers and scientists worldwide rely on these tools to develop, test, and improve the designs of technologies we rely on every day in industries such as automotive, aerospace, communications, energy, and healthcare. More than 6,500 teaching and learning institutions use MATLAB and Simulink as fundamental tools for teaching engineering principles and accelerating the pace of scientific discovery. IEEE TryEngineering and MathWorks are collaborating to build awareness of engineering through the promotion and development of lessons that showcase the power of simulations for solving real-world challenges.
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What is Simulation?
Simulation is the process of using mathematical models to create a digital version of something that can be used in the real world and analyze how the system behaves under different conditions. It empowers engineers and scientists to design, test, and optimize ideas virtually before building physical prototypes. By simulating, engineers can predict performance, explore alternatives to arrive at creative solutions, and make informed decisions to save time and resources. For example, engineers can simulate a digital model of a new electric car that can detect pedestrians on the road. By testing how the car’s software operates in a virtual world, engineers can quickly and safely check how the car behaves in different scenarios, such as in different weather conditions, and optimize design before committing to a physical prototype. When engineers can quickly try new ideas and see what works, they can invent new things that make the world better faster, like safer cars, cleaner energy, and smarter robots.
MATLAB Resources
Access MATLAB
- STEP 1: Create a MathWorks account.
- STEP 2: Go to matlab.mathworks.com and click “Open MATLAB Online”.
MATLAB Online (basic) opens in your browser, offering up to 20 hours/month of free use and 5GB of MATLAB Drive storage for file uploads. Explore additional access options for schools and STEM outreach programs via MathWorks Primary and Secondary School Resources.
Get Started with MATLAB
- Learn To Code is a one-hour online, interactive tutorial that teaches the basics of programming using MATLAB. Appropriate for ages 12+.
- MATLAB Onramp and Simulink Onramp are two-hour online tutorials that introduce commonly used features and processes.
- Visit the MATLAB YouTube channel and Student GitHub page for more tutorials and examples of how students around the world use MATLAB and Simulink.
Featured Lesson: Bright Beats Challenge
Featured Lesson: Bright Beats Challenge
Imagine transforming light into sound! In this activity, you’ll build a light-sensitive synthesizer using a micro:bit that converts changes in ambient light into musical notes, helping users “hear” light in a whole new way. Then, you’ll use MATLAB to build an algorithm that transforms pixels of a digital image into sounds, allowing you to explore the world of signal processing and learn how visual and audio data are represented by computers.
Featured MATLAB Simulations
MathWorks has partnerships with STEM education organizations, such as Youth Engineering Solutions (YES) and Engineering for US All (e4usa), to create computational thinking and simulation activities with MATLAB to accompany their curricula. These featured lessons showcase the power of simulations and modeling through hands-on projects that bring engineering design concepts to life.
Additionally, MathWorks has a catalog of courseware activities to enhance instruction of topics including math, physics, robotics, programming, and science. View the collection of activities for primary and secondary schools here.
Engineering Vision Extenders for Exoplanet Detection
Students simulate how scientists detect exoplanets by analyzing light curves (graphs showing a star’s brightness over time) using MATLAB. This activity models how computers assist in space exploration through pattern recognition and algorithmic thinking.
Engineering Wearable Alerts for Health Monitoring
Students use MATLAB to design and refine algorithms for wearable devices that detect poor posture (e.g., “text neck”). They simulate user scenarios to test how different settings affect when an alert triggers, helping them improve the system’s accuracy and usefulness.
Water Filtration Model: Testing Material Performance
Students use a powerful mathematical model in MATLAB to simulate how different filtration materials, media sizes, and filter bed lengths affect impurity removal from water, helping them make informed design decisions before building a prototype.
Wind Turbine Model: Testing Blade Design
Students use MATLAB to simulate how blade design parameters, such as diameter and wind speed, affect a wind turbine’s input and output power. This simulation allows them to evaluate the efficiency of various blade designs before building and testing prototypes.