Aerospace Scenarios

3D aerospace simulation in Unreal Engine^® visualization environment

Use the Aerospace Blockset > Animation > Simulation 3D library blocks to visualize vehicle dynamics and airport operations in the Unreal Engine environment. See How 3D Simulation for Aerospace Blockset Works and watch Visualization Techniques with Aerospace Blockset Video.

Use 3D simulation blocks (requires Simulink^® 3D Animation™) to integrate Unreal Engine with Simulink so that you can interrogate the world around the vehicle for virtually testing perception, control, and planning algorithms.

The Unreal Engine visualization environment is not supported in Simulink Online. This limitation includes the Aerospace Blockset > Animation > Simulation 3D library.

Acknowledgments

Blocks

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Vehicle and Payload Models

Simulation 3D Aircraft	Implement aircraft in 3D environment (Since R2021b)
Simulation 3D Rotorcraft	Implement 3D Rotorcraft (Since R2023a)
Simulation 3D Spacecraft	Implement spacecraft in 3D environment (Since R2024a)
Simulation 3D Custom Pack	Generate translation and rotation information for custom aircraft (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D General Aviation Pack	Generate translation and rotation information for general aviation aircraft (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D Airliner Pack	Generate translation and rotation information for generic airliner (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D Sky Hogg Pack	Generate translation and rotation information for Sky Hogg (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D Air Transport Pack	Generate translation and rotation information for air transport aircraft (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D Helicopter Pack	Generate translation and rotation information for helicopter (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D Light Helicopter Pack	Generate translation and rotation information for light helicopter (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D Multirotor Pack	Generate translation and rotation information for multirotor rotorcraft (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D CubeSat Pack	Create translation and rotation input matrices for CubeSat (Since R2024a)
Simulation 3D SmallSat Pack	Create translation and rotation input matrices for SmallSat (Since R2024a)

Simulation Environment and Sensors

Simulation 3D Scene Configuration	Scene configuration for 3D simulation environment (Since R2021b)
Simulation 3D Ultrasonic Sensor	Ultrasonic sensor model in 3D simulation environment (Since R2023b)
Simulation 3D Space Environment	Configure 3D Earth or Moon Scene from UTC Julian date input (Since R2026a)

Transformation, Messaging, and Visualization

Simulation 3D Actor Transform Get	Get actor translation, rotation, scale (Since R2021b)
Simulation 3D Actor Transform Set	Set actor translation, rotation, scale (Since R2021b)
Simulation 3D Camera Get	Camera image (Since R2021b)
Simulation 3D Message Get	Retrieve data from Unreal Engine visualization environment (Since R2021b)
Simulation 3D Message Set	Send data to Unreal Engine visualization environment (Since R2021b)

Scenes and Vehicles

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Scenes

Apple Hill	Apple Hill campus in Natick, MA
Airport	Generic airport
Griffiss Airport	Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY
Space	Space with stars in the background
Earth	The Earth and Moon in space
Moon	The Moon in space
Underwater	Underwater scene

Aircraft

Airliner	Generic airliner
Air Transport	Customizable air transport aircraft
Custom	Customizable generic fixed-wing aircraft, including vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft
General Aviation	Customizable general aviation aircraft
Sky Hogg	Sky Hogg aircraft

Rotorcraft

Helicopter	Generic helicopter
Light Helicopter	Generic light helicopter
Multirotor	Generic multirotor

Spacecraft

CubeSat	Generic CubeSat
SmallSat	Generic SmallSat

Functions

`copyExampleSim3dProject`	Copy support package files and plugins to specified folders (Since R2022b)
`sim3d.Editor`	Interface to the Unreal Engine project (Since R2021b)
`open`	Open the Unreal Editor (Since R2021b)
`ASim3dActor`	Abstract class to use as a base class for user-defined Unreal Engine C++ or blueprint actors (Since R2021b)
`Sim3dSetup`	C++ method that sets up actor in Unreal Engine 3D simulation (Since R2021b)
`Sim3dStep`	C++ method that steps actor in Unreal Engine 3D simulation (Since R2021b)
`Sim3dRelease`	C++ method that releases actor in Unreal Engine 3D simulation (Since R2021b)
`StartSimulation3DMessageReader`	Constructs a message reader object in the Unreal Editor (Since R2021b)
`ReadSimulation3DMessage`	Receives message from Simulink model using a message reader object (Since R2021b)
`StopSimulation3DMessageReader`	Deletes message reader object in the Unreal Editor (Since R2021b)
`StartSimulation3DMessageWriter`	Constructs a message writer object in the Unreal Editor (Since R2021b)
`WriteSimulation3DMessage`	Sends message to Simulink model using a message writer object (Since R2021b)
`StopSimulation3DMessageWriter`	Deletes message writer object in the Unreal Editor (Since R2021b)

Classes

`sim3d.maps.Map`	Access additional scenes from the server (Since R2022b)
`sim3d.environment.GeospatialConfiguration`	Create 3D environment in Unreal Engine (Since R2024b)

Topics

Simulation Basics

Unreal Engine Simulation Environment Requirements and Limitations
When simulating in the Unreal Engine environment, keep these software requirements, minimum hardware requirements, and limitations in mind.
Navigate in Unreal Engine Environment
Control the view of the 3D environment in the Simulation 3D Viewer using keyboard shortcuts and pointer controls.
How 3D Simulation for Aerospace Blockset Works
Learn about the co-simulation framework between Simulink and the Unreal Engine and how block execution order affects 3D simulation.
Generate Unreal Engine Landscape
Use Unreal Editor to create a landscape map by importing a heightmap file.
Interact with Unreal Engine Simulation Environment
Control actors in Unreal Engine environment using the Simulation 3D Viewer interface and programmatically control the simulation.during simulation.