Functional Mockup Interface
Notice: the FMI plugin as described here is "work in progress"; more features are being developed and will be made available in a future release.
Introduction
Functional Mockup Units are modules to simulate physical and non-physical components in an orchestrated setup. Each such module implements a well defined interface ("FMI" for Functional Mockup Interface) and is packaged in a standardized container (actually a zip container), which contains both the executable code (as binary and optional source) and a meta description, which describes the input/output parameters and other simulation details.
The motivation behind is that manufacturers of hard- and software components can provide such simulation components for their real components, and that a project engineer can use those to simulate the system in an early planing phase. This includes both fully simulated systems, but also in-the-loop setups, where simulated parts interact with real components.
FMUs in Expecco
Expecco can load binary FMUs (i.e. ".fmu" files) and execute them within an automation or test scenario. The functionality is provided by the CBridge and an API is provided by the "FMU Interface Library".
Low Level Actions
Load FMU
The "FMU [Load]" action takes as input a filename (which can come from an attachment). It extracts th binary and the model description and loads the binary into the CBridge. The CBridge may be running on a remote host.
See an example in the "FMU [Load]" action's Test/Demo page.