Simulation 3D Scene Configuration

Scene configuration for 3D simulation environment

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Libraries:
Offroad Autonomy Library / Simulation 3D
Aerospace Blockset / Animation / Simulation 3D
Automated Driving Toolbox / Simulation 3D
Robotics System Toolbox / Simulation 3D
Simulink 3D Animation / Simulation 3D / Environment
UAV Toolbox / Simulation 3D
Vehicle Dynamics Blockset / Vehicle Scenarios / Sim3D / Sim3D Core

Description

Note

Simulating models with the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block requires Simulink^® 3D Animation™.

The Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block implements a 3D simulation environment that is rendered by using the Unreal Engine^® from Epic Games^®. integrates the 3D simulation environment with Simulink so that you can query the world around the vehicle and virtually test perception, control, and planning algorithms. Using this block, you can also control the position of the sun and the weather conditions of a scene. For more details, see Sun Position and Weather.

Tip

The Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block must execute after blocks that send data to the 3D environment and before blocks that receive data from the 3D environment. To verify the execution order of such blocks, right-click the blocks and select Properties. Then, on the General tab, confirm these Priority settings:

• For blocks that send data to the 3D environment, Priority must be set to -1. That way, these blocks prepare their data before the 3D environment receives it.

• For the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block in your model, Priority must be set to 0.

• For blocks that receive data from the 3D environment, Priority must be set to 1. That way, the 3D environment can prepare the data before these blocks receive it.

For more information about execution order, see How Unreal Engine Simulation for Robots Works.

Examples

New

Design Bin Picking Scene and Sensors in Unreal Engine®

Set up and interface with a bin-picking, Unreal Engine, simulation environment using Simulink 3D Animation.

• Since R2024b
• Open Live Script

Parameters

Scene

Scene Selection

Scene source — Source of scene

Default Scenes (default) | RoadRunner | Unreal Executable | Unreal Editor

Source of the scene in which to simulate, specified as one of the options in the table.

Option	Description
Default Scenes	Simulate in one of the default, prebuilt scenes specified in the Scene name parameter.
RoadRunner	Simulate in a RoadRunner scene. To import the scene, specify the RoadRunner file in the Project parameter.
Unreal Executable	Simulate in a scene that is part of an Unreal Engine executable file. Specify the executable file in the Project name parameter. Specify the scene in the Scene parameter. Select this option to simulate in custom scenes that have been packaged into an executable for faster simulation.
Unreal Editor	Simulate in a scene that is part of an Unreal Engine project (.uproject) file and is open in the Unreal® Editor. Specify the project file in the Project parameter. Select this option when developing custom scenes. By clicking Open Unreal Editor, you can co-simulate within Simulink and the Unreal Editor and modify your scenes based on the simulation results.

Scene name — Name of prebuilt 3D scene

Empty scene (default) | Double lane change | Offroad pit mining scene

Name of the prebuilt 3D scene in which to simulate, specified as one of these options. For details about a scene, see its listed corresponding reference page.

• Double lane change – Double Lane Change

• Offroad pit mining scene – Offroad pit mining scene

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, set Scene source to Default Scenes.

Project name — Name of Unreal Engine executable file

VehicleSimulation.exe (default) | valid executable file name

Name of the Unreal Engine executable file, specified as a valid executable project file name. You can either browse for the file or specify the full path to the project file, using backslashes. To specify a scene from this file to simulate in, use the Scene parameter.

By default, Project name is set to VehicleSimulation.exe, which is on the MATLAB^® search path.

Note

If you select a custom Unreal executable file built with a version of Unreal Engine that is not compatible with the current version of MATLAB, you receive one of these error messages:

• "Incompatible version of 3D Simulation engine: Undefined": For Unreal executable built for a MATLAB release prior to R2023b

• "Incompatible version of 3D Simulation engine: 23.2.0": For Unreal executable built for MATLAB R2023b or later

To resolve these errors, you must migrate the Unreal project and rebuild the executable with the latest support package installed. For more information, see How Unreal Engine Simulation for Robots Works.

Example: C:\Local\WindowsNoEditor\AutoVrtlEnv.exe

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, set Scene source to Unreal Executable.

Select ASAM OpenDRIVE file — Specify an ASAM OpenDRIVE^® file

off (default) | on

Specify an ASAM OpenDRIVE file. Select the block parameter Select ASAM OpenDRIVE file to specify an ASAM OpenDRIVE file.

Dependencies

This parameter is available when you set Scene Source is set to either Unreal Executable or Unreal Engine.

Data Types: Boolean

Scene — Name of scene from executable file

/Game/Maps/EmptyScene (default) | path to valid scene name

Name of a scene from the executable file specified by the Project name parameter, specified as a path to a valid scene name.

When you package scenes from an Unreal Engine project into an executable file, the Unreal Editor saves the scenes to internal folders within the executable file. Default scenes are located at the path /Game/Maps. Therefore, you must prepend either /Game/Maps to the scene name. Specify this path using forward slashes. For the file name, do not specify the .umap extension. For example, if the scene from the executable in which you want to simulate is named myScene.umap, specify Scene as /Games/Maps/myScene.

Alternatively, you can browse for the scene in the corresponding Unreal Engine project. These scenes are typically saved to the Content/Maps subfolder of the project. This subfolder contains all the scenes in your project. The scenes have the extension .umap. Select one of the scenes that you packaged into the executable file specified by the File name parameter. Use backward slashes and specify the .umap extension for the scene.

By default, Scene is set to /Game/Maps/EmptyScene, which is a scene from the default VehicleSimulation.exe executable file specified by the Project name parameter.

Example: /Game/Maps/scene1, C:/Local/myProject/Content/Maps/scene1.umap

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, set Scene source to Unreal Executable.

Project — Name of Unreal Engine project file or RoadRunner file

valid project file name

Name of the Unreal Engine project file or RoadRunner file, specified as a valid project file name. You can either browse for the file or specify the full path to the file, using backslashes. The file name must contain no spaces.

To simulate scenes from Unreal Engine project file in the Unreal Editor, click Open Unreal Editor. If you have an Unreal Editor session open already, then this button is disabled.

To run the simulation, in Simulink, click Run. Before you click Play in the Unreal Editor, wait until the Diagnostic Viewer window displays this confirmation message:

In the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block, you set the scene source to 'Unreal Editor'.
In Unreal Editor, select 'Play' to view the scene.

This message confirms that Simulink has instantiated the scene actors, including the vehicles and cameras, in the Unreal Engine 3D environment. If you click Play before the Diagnostic Viewer window displays this confirmation message, Simulink might not instantiate the actors in the Unreal Editor.

To simulate a RoadRunner scene, browse for the folder containing the exported RoadRunner scene files, then specify the Filmbox (.fbx) file.

Dependencies

Scene Parameters

Scene view — Placement of virtual camera that displays scene

Custom | Scene Origin | vehicle name

Configure the placement of the virtual camera that displays the scene during simulation.

• If your model contains no vehicle blocks, then during simulation, you view the scene in free camera mode from a camera positioned at the scene origin. The camera movement uses the Z-up left-handed (LH) Cartesian coordinate system. To change the view to a custom viewpoint, set Scene view to Custom. Then, set the Initial viewer translation and Initial viewer rotation values to view the scene in free camera mode at the specified viewpoint.

• If your model contains at least one vehicle block, then by default, you view the scene from a camera attached to the first vehicle that was placed in your model. To change the view to a different vehicle, set Scene view to the name of that vehicle. The Scene view parameter list is populated with all the Name parameter values of the vehicle blocks contained in your model.

If you add a Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block to your model before adding any vehicle blocks, the virtual camera remains positioned at the scene origin. To reposition the camera to follow a vehicle, update this parameter.

Scene Controls

When Scene view is set to Scene Origin or Custom, you can change the location of the camera to navigate in the scene during simulation using keyboard and mouse control. You can also change the camera location when the simulation is paused.

To navigate in the 3D environment, use these keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard Shortcut	Camera Control
W	Move forward.
Shift+W	Move faster in the forward direction.
S	Move backward.
Shift+S	Move faster in reverse direction.
A	Move left.
Shift+A	Move faster toward left.
D	Move right.
Shift+D	Move faster toward right.
Q	Move up.
Shift+Q	Move faster in the upward direction.
E	Move down.
Shift+E	Move faster in the downward direction.
Mouse scroll wheel	Control the camera distance from the cursor point.
Shift+mouse scroll wheel	Camera moves faster.
Mouse right-click and drag	Orbit around the cursor point.
O	Attach camera to actor under the cursor point.
Mouse left-click and drag	Orbit around the actor after camera attaches to the actor.
P	Detach camera from the actor.
L	Record the current viewpoint and display Location saved on the scene.
1 to 9	Access the stored viewpoints, if available.
Tab	Cycle the view between all vehicles in the scene and the viewpoint at the start of the simulation, in the forward direction.
Shift+Tab	Cycle the view between all vehicles in the scene and the viewpoint at the start of the simulation, in the reverse direction.
I	Display the keyboard shortcuts on the screen.

Vehicle Views

When Scene view is set to a vehicle name, during simulation, you can change the location of the camera around the vehicle. You can also set the view to a vehicle during simulation by pressing Tab.

To smoothly change the camera views, use these keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard Shortcut	Camera View
1	Back left	View Animated GIF
2	Back
3	Back right
4	Left
5	Internal
6	Right
7	Front left
8	Front
9	Front right
0	Overhead

For additional camera controls, use these keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard Shortcut	Camera Control
Tab	Cycle the view between all vehicles in the scene.  View Animated GIF
Mouse scroll wheel	Control the camera distance from the vehicle.  View Animated GIF
L	Toggle a camera lag effect on or off. When you enable the lag effect, the camera view includes: Position lag, based on the vehicle translational acceleration Rotation lag, based on the vehicle rotational velocity This lag improves visualization of overall vehicle acceleration and rotation.  View Animated GIF
F	Toggle the free camera mode on or off. When you enable the free camera mode, you can use the mouse to change the pitch and yaw of the camera. This mode allows you to orbit the camera around the vehicle.  View Animated GIF

Sample time — Sample time of visualization engine

.02 (default) | real positive scalar

Sample time, T_s, of the visualization engine, specified as a real positive scalar. Units are in seconds.

The graphics frame rate of the visualization engine is the inverse of the sample time. For example, if Sample time is 1/60, then the visualization engine solver tries to achieve a frame rate of 60 frames per second. However, the real-time graphics frame rate is often lower due to factors such as graphics card performance and model complexity.

By default, blocks that receive data from the visualization engine inherit this sample rate.

Weather

Override scene weather — Option to control the scene weather and sun position

off (default) | on

Select whether to control the scene weather and sun position during simulation. Use the enabled parameters to change the sun position, clouds, fog, rain, and snow.

This table summarizes sun position settings for specific times of day.

Time of Day	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
Midnight	Sun altitude: -90 Sun azimuth: 180
Sunrise in the north	Sun altitude: 0 Sun azimuth: 180
Noon	Sun altitude: 90 Sun azimuth: 180

This table summarizes settings for specific cloud conditions.

Cloud Condition	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
Clear	Cloud opacity: 0
Heavy	Cloud opacity: 85
Heavy	Enable Volumetric clouds: Selected Cloud Coverage: 50 Cloud layer altitude: 6

This table summarizes settings for specific fog conditions.

Fog Condition	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
None	Fog density: 0
Heavy	Fog density: 100

This table summarizes settings for specific rain conditions.

Rain Condition	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
Light	Cloud opacity: 10 Rain density: 25
Heavy	Cloud opacity: 10 Rain density: 80

This table summarizes settings for specific snow conditions.

Snow Condition	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
Heavy	Snow density: 50

Sun

Sun azimuth — Azimuth angle from south to horizontal projection of the sun ray

90 (default) | any value between 0 and 360

Azimuth angle in the horizontal plane measured from the south to the horizontal projection of the sun rays, in deg.

Use the Sun altitude and Sun azimuth parameters to control the time of day in the scene. For example, to specify sunrise in the north, set Sun altitude to 0 deg and Sun azimuth to 180 deg.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Sun altitude — Altitude angle between sun and horizon

40 (default) | any value between -90 and 90

Altitude angle in a vertical plane between the sun's rays and the horizontal projection of the rays, in deg.

Use the Sun altitude and Sun azimuth parameters to control the time of day in the scene. For example, to specify sunrise in the north, set Sun altitude to 0 deg and Sun azimuth to 180 deg.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Enable geospatial sun — Option to enable geospatial sun

off (default) | on

Select this check box to enable geospatial sun. Enabling geospatial sun is useful to simulate conditions near the poles or at locations with disproportionate lengths of day versus night.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Latitude — Latitude of geolocation on earth

0 (default) | scalar

Latitude of geolocation on earth, specified as a scalar, in deg.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather and Enable geospatial sun.

Longitude — Longitude of geolocation on earth

0 (default) | scalar

Longitude of geolocation on earth, specified as a scalar, in deg.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather and Enable geospatial sun.

Date (YYYY-MM-DD) — Date

2023-01-01 (default) | integer

Date, specified as an integer in the format YYYY-MM-DD.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather and Enable geospatial sun.

Time (HH:MM:SS) — Time

10:30:00 (default) | integer

Time, specified as an integer in the format HH:MM:SS.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather and Enable geospatial sun.

Time zone — Time zone

-5.0 (default) | any value between -12.0 and 12.0

Time zone specifies the number of hours offset from the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather and Enable geospatial sun.

Daylight saving time — Option to enable daylight saving time

off (default) | on

Select this check box to enable daylight saving time.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather and Enable geospatial sun.

Cloud

Cloud speed — Unreal Editor Cloud Speed global actor target value

1 (default) | any value between -100 and 100

Parameter that corresponds to the Unreal Editor Cloud Speed global actor target value. The clouds move from west to east for positive values and east to west for negative values.

Use the Cloud opacity and Cloud speed parameters to control clouds in the scene.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Cloud opacity — Unreal Editor Cloud Opacity global actor target value

10 (default) | any value between 0 and 100

Parameter that corresponds to the Unreal Editor Cloud Opacity global actor target value, in percent. Zero is a cloudless scene.

Use the Cloud opacity and Cloud speed parameters to control clouds in the scene.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Enable volumetric clouds — Option to enable volumetric clouds

off (default) | on

Select this check box to enable volumetric clouds.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Cloud coverage — Unreal Editor Cloud Density global target value

1.0 (default) | any value between 0 and 100

Parameter that corresponds to the Unreal Editor Cloud Density global actor target value, in percent.

Use the Cloud coverage parameter to control clouds in the scene.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather and Enable volumetric clouds.

Cloud layer altitude — Unreal Editor Layer Bottom Altitude global actor target value

6 (default) | any value between 5 and 20

Parameter that corresponds to the Unreal Editor Layer Bottom Altitude global actor target value, in km.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather and Enable volumetric clouds.

Fog

Fog density — Unreal Editor Set Fog Density and Set Start Distance target values

0 (default) | any value between 0 and 100

Parameter that corresponds to the Unreal Editor Set Fog Density and Set Start Distance target values, in percent.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Rain

Rain density — Unreal Editor local actor controlling rain density, wetness, rain puddles, and ripples

0 (default) | any value between 0 and 100

Parameter corresponding to the Unreal Editor local actor that controls rain density, wetness, rain puddles, and ripples, in percent.

Use the Cloud opacity and Rain density parameters to control rain in the scene.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Enable raindrops on camera lens — Option to enable raindrops on camera lens

off (default) | on

Select this check box to enable raindrops on the camera lens.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

Snow

Snow density — Unreal Editor global actor controlling snow density

0 (default) | any value between 0 and 100

This parameter corresponds to the Unreal Editor global actor that controls snow density, in percent.

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Override scene weather.

More About

Sun Position and Weather

To control the scene weather and sun position, on the Weather tab, select Override scene weather. Use the enabled parameters to change the sun position, clouds, fog, and rain during the simulation.

Sun Position

Use Sun altitude and Sun azimuth to control the sun position.

• Sun altitude — Altitude angle in a vertical plane between the sun rays and the horizontal projection of the rays.

• Sun azimuth — Azimuth angle in the horizontal plane measured from the south to the horizontal projection of the sun rays.

Alternatively, select Enable geospatial sun to use Latitude, Longitude, Date, Time, and Time zone to control sun position. Enabling geospatial sun is useful to simulate conditions near the poles or at locations with disproportionate lengths of day versus night.

This table summarizes sun position settings for specific times of day.

Time of Day	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
Midnight	Sun altitude: -90 Sun azimuth: 180
Sunrise in the north	Sun altitude: 0 Sun azimuth: 180
Noon	Sun altitude: 90 Sun azimuth: 180

Clouds

Use Cloud opacity and Cloud speed to control clouds in the scene.

• Cloud opacity — Unreal Editor Cloud Opacity global actor target value. Zero is a cloudless scene.

• Cloud speed — Unreal Editor Cloud Speed global actor target value. The clouds move from west to east for positive values and east to west for negative values.

Select Enable volumetric clouds to use Cloud coverage and Cloud layer altitude to control volumetric clouds in the scene.

• Cloud coverage — Unreal Editor Cloud Density global actor target value.

  

• Cloud layer altitude — Unreal Editor Layer Bottom Altitude global actor target value.

  

This table summarizes settings for specific cloud conditions.

Cloud Condition	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
Clear	Cloud opacity: 0
Heavy	Cloud opacity: 85
Heavy	Enable Volumetric clouds: Selected Cloud Coverage: 50 Cloud layer altitude: 6

Fog

Use Fog density to control fog in the scene. Fog density corresponds to the Unreal Editor Set Fog Density.

This table summarizes settings for specific fog conditions.

Fog Condition	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
None	Fog density: 0
Heavy	Fog density: 100

Rain

Use Cloud opacity and Rain density to control rain in the scene.

• Cloud opacity — Unreal Editor Cloud Opacity global actor target value.

• Rain density — Unreal Editor local actor that controls rain density, wetness, rain puddles, and ripples.

This table summarizes settings for specific rain conditions.

Rain Condition	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
Light	Cloud opacity: 10 Rain density: 25
Heavy	Cloud opacity: 10 Rain density: 80

Snow

Use Snow density to control snow in the scene.

• Snow density — Unreal Editor global actor that controls snow density.

This table summarizes settings for specific snow conditions.

Snow Condition	Settings	Unreal Editor Environment
Heavy	Snow density: 50

Version History

R2024a: New parameters available to simulate additional weather conditions

Use new weather parameters to simulate additional weather conditions.

Weather	Parameters
Sun	Enable geospatial sun Latitude Longitude Date Time Daylight saving time
Cloud	Enable volumetric clouds Cloud coverage Cloud layer altitude
Rain	Enable raindrops on camera lens
Snow	Snow density

R2023b: Import RoadRunner Scene into Unreal Engine Simulation Environment

Use the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block to import a RoadRunner scene and simulate in the scene. To specify the source of scene, select the Scene source parameter as RoadRunner. Then, in the Project parameter, specify the Filmbox (.fbx) file corresponding to the RoadRunner scene. For an example, see Import RoadRunner Scene into Unreal Engine Using Simulink (Simulink 3D Animation).

R2023b: Camera View Improvements to View the Virtual World

Use the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block to view the virtual world from a camera positioned at a custom viewpoint. To set the custom viewpoint, select Scene view as Custom and set the Initial viewer translation and Initial viewer rotation values. You can also use keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls to navigate in the virtual world scene.