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Automatically Run MATLAB Function on Raspberry Pi After Restart

If you deploy a MATLAB® function on Raspberry Pi®, the function does not start running automatically after the Raspberry Pi is switched on. You must manually start the function by establishing a Secure Shell (SSH) connection with Raspberry Pi through Wi-Fi® or Ethernet.

With the Run-on-boot feature, you no longer need to manually start the MATLAB function. The function runs immediately after the Raspberry Pi is switched on.

The MATLAB function blinkLED lights a green LED on Raspberry Pi. Open the function in Simulink® editor and deploy it on Raspberry Pi. After the model is deployed successfully, the green LED starts blinking. Now, restart Raspberry Pi and wait for a few seconds. The green LED does not start blinking because the function on the hardware is not running.

Now, add your MATLAB deployed function to Run-on-boot as described in Add the MATLAB Function to Run-on-Boot and restart Raspberry Pi. The green LED starts blinking immediately after the restart.

Create a MATLAB Function

  1. Copy the blinkLED function and paste it in the MATLAB Editor. The function implements an algorithm to blink the ACT LED on the Raspberry Pi hardware every 0.5 seconds for 100 cycles.

    function blinkLED()
% Create a Raspberry Pi object
r= raspi();
% Blink the LED for 100 cycles
for count = 1:100
    % Turn on the LED
    writeLED(r,"LED0", 1);
    % Pause for 0.5 seconds
    pause(0.5);
    % Turn off the LED
    writeLED(r,"LED0", 0);
    % Pause for 0.5 seconds
    pause(0.5);
end
end

  2. Save the function as blinkLED.m to a folder to which you have write access.

Create a Hardware Configuration Object

  1. Create a hardware configuration object by using the targetHardware function in the MATLAB Command Window.

    board = targetHardware('Raspberry Pi')

board =

targetHardware with properties:

            Name: 'Raspberry Pi'
   DeviceAddress: '176.93.236.232'
        Username: 'pi'
        Password: '*********'
        BuildDir: '/home/pi'
 EnableRunOnBoot: 0
     BuildAction: 'Build, load, and run'
     CoderConfig: [1×1 coder.CodeConfig]

  2. Verify the DeviceAddress, Username, and Password properties listed in the output. If required, change the value of the properties by using dot notation syntax.

    For example, to change the device address to 173.21.22.327, enter:

    board.DeviceAddress = '173.21.22.327'

Add the MATLAB Function to Run-on-Boot

You can add or remove a MATLAB function from Run-on-boot by setting the EnableRunOnBoot property using the following MATLAB function:

board.EnableRunOnBoot = true

board =

targetHardware with properties:

            Name: 'Raspberry Pi'
   DeviceAddress: '176.93.236.232'
        Username: 'pi'
        Password: '*********'
        BuildDir: '/home/pi'
 EnableRunOnBoot: 1
     BuildAction: 'Build, load, and run'
     CoderConfig: [1×1 coder.CodeConfig]

Manage Run-on-Boot Programmatically

You can manage the Run-on-boot feature programmatically using:

Limitations

  • You can add only one function to Run-on-boot. The most recently added function overwrites the existing function in Run-on-boot.

  • Run-on-boot does not work when the function is running in External mode or Processor-In-The-Loop (PIL).