BMS
BMS is an open-source and cross-platform Python Block-Model Simulator. Its purpose is to calculate the rime values of time functions connected by blocks representing behaviors and equations between them. The tools found within bear similarity to Simulink from MATLAB. A model is composed of blocks having the variables. The application itself is not only lightweight but also easy to automize. You can gain more knowledge about the tool like its inner workings, tutorials, and how to use it properly by visiting pythonhosted.
BMS Alternatives
#1 EMSO Simulator
EMSO Simulator is a feature-rich and CAPE-OPEN compliant equation-oriented process simulator with a GUI for the purpose of modeling steady-state or dynamic processes. The full form of the Name ESO is Environment for Modeling, Simulation, and Optimization and is written in C++. The features include a fully modular system with DLL’s solvers and allow the users to write their custom NewSolver, and EML, which is an open library of models.
It supports parameter estimation of dynamic and static models, static optimization, static and dynamic simulation. EMSO Simulator comes with a big set of built-in functions and can work with machine optimize BLAS routines. A Modeling language is used for writing models, removing the need for the user to have knowledge of programming. The solution has a fairly portable code with versions for Linux and Windows, and you can also easily compile it for other platforms.
Other features include speedy automatic differentiation made possible due to the built-in code and capability to solve high-index problems, thanks to the built-in code for symbolic differentiation. In many situations, the library of models EML doesn’t need to be modified, although the user is given full flexibility to develop new models by making use of the EMSO modeling language.
#2 StochSD
StochSD (Stochastic System Dynamics) is a Continuous System Simulation extension that is built with the capabilities to help you simulate continuous flows between compartments and, most importantly, also has the power to manage discrete transitions of entities without hassle. The important characteristic is Full Potential Theory, which allows for the consistency between macro and micro models realized by StochSD.
The included tools enable you to easily perform parameter/optimization estimation to accomplish sensitivity analysis, as well as statistical analysis and results in presentation for several simulations of a stochastic model. The target audience of the solution is the research and education sectors with small to mid-sized companies working with modeling and simulation.
StochSD has provided an in-depth User’s Manual and manual for the tools to make it easy for you to get familiar with the inner workings. Besides this manual, you can also download multiple lab exercises along with instructive examples from the website. The software was developed by Magnus and Erik Gustafsson and Leif at Uppsala University Sweden, with close collaboration with Agricultural University and Karolinska Institute Sweden. It is multi-platform and runs perfectly fine on Linux, Microsoft Windows, and macOS operating systems.
#3 Altair Activate
Altair Activate is a flexible and easy-to-use integration platform developed to enable systems simulation of a comprehensive system. It is powerful, secure, and based on a hybrid block diagram environment for electronics, and electric systems, signal blocks, and object-oriented physical components providing Multiphysics analysis in each phase of the development cycle. It facilitates integration and reuse of available code with the same model thanks to maximum support of scripting, math modeling, and modeling languages.
Other important aspects like Multilevel modeling and adjustable complexity models such as Functional Mock-up Interface or co-simulation alongside Altair Flux or MotionSolve enable multibody dynamic analysis for actuator design and electromechanical sensors, providing great service to the audience. The top achievement of the platform is that it allows for cooperation and closes the links between multi-disciplinary engineering, which is known to be frequently isolated in development silos. The reasons to sign up with Altair Activate include high-performance, Better Insight, Open and Flexible, and Holistic Assessment.
One of its features is 1D System Simulation which mainly involves simulation at the system level, making it easy to achieve performance assessment of the full product instead of only one part of it. Altair Activate is capable of connecting with other Altair Tools to enable actual multi-disciplinary system simulation by using co-simulation with MotionSolve, which is done for controlling multi-body dynamics. The platform is quicker than 3D Simulations and depends on higher levels of model abstraction, allowing the product-performance insight early on, such as closer to the concept design stage. It comes with support for Functional Mockup Interface that gives way for co-simulation or model exchange connections to third-party tools that also work with the FMI standard.
#4 Circuit Simulator Applet
Circuit Simulator Applet is an online electronic circuit simulator that you can use for your projects without needing to install it on your computer. It can be accessed from any web browser from any device with a stable connection to the internet. Once it is launched, you will be able to see an animated schematic of a basic LRC circuit for demonstration purposes. It has a few colors that you need to be familiar with for proper usage.
The green color signifies positive voltage, a gray color shows ground, the red color is for the negative voltage, and finally, non-static yellow dots indicate current. You can easily turn the switch on or off by simply clicking it. Just point the cursor over any component, and it will show a brief description of that component along with its state in the lower corner of the window. The component can also be easily modified by hovering the mouse over it, right-clicking, and selecting “Edit”. The online app provides a lot of sample circuits that can be checked by clicking on the “Circuits” menu.
#5 Insight Maker
Insight Maker is a fast and high-performance solution that enables you to build models and insights without any payments. It enables you to reveal your thoughts via beautiful pictures and causal loop diagrams. After this is done, you can transform these diagrams into advanced simulation models. All these tasks take place in the browser, removing the need to download it on the device. The best feature is System Dynamics that provides a fully capable and accessible framework to help you comprehend change via complex systems.
It provides extensive System Dynamics support encompassing complete support for unit conversion and dimensional analysis. An important aspect of Insight Maker is Agent-Based Models that allow for the discovery of interactions across individuals in a system. It enables the end-user to set custom individual identities and view the interaction of these individuals in a network or geographic space.
The online tool supports sharing, which can be done in a variety of ways like sending a link, collaboration with others, and embedding in a blog. Insight Maker has the capability to perform anywhere and on any system without requiring plug-ins, resulting in full simplicity. Another worth mentioning feature is that you can browse rich simulation algorithms for Agent-Based Modeling and System Dynamics in an actual cohesive environment. System Dynamics helps with getting insights into the system.
#6 GNU Radio
GNU Radio is a development toolkit written in Python and C++ that gives you access to signal processing blocks for applying signal processing systems and software-defined radios. You can use it along with external RF hardware for the creation of software-defined radios and by not needing any hardware in a simulation-like environment. The audience of the toolkit is commercial, hobbyist, and academic individuals/sectors who use it for the purpose of wireless communications research and real-world radio systems.
The solution is enriched with the tools and framework required to build and run a general signal-processing application or merely for software radio. “Flowgraphs” is the term used to denote GNU Radio applications because they are a series of signal processing blocks paired with each other, signifying a data flow. The core feature is reconfigurability.
Flowgraphs can be programmed in Python or C++, and the whole infrastructure of GNU Radio is in C++, plus most of the user tools are in Python. GNU Radio is a member of the GNU Project and is released under the GNU General Public License, and a significant portion of the project code is copyrighted by Free Software Foundation.
#7 SimulationX
SimulationX is a reasonably good, powerful, and easy-to-use simulation software that allows you to design and analyze your Multi-Physics System. The complexity of technical systems such as manufacturing plants and machines is a well-known fact. These systems encompass a multitude of subsystems and components that are mostly equipped with controls and sensors and based on various technical domains. The dynamic interactions produced by these have a great effect on comfort, safety, and performance.
SimulationX offers a single platform to fulfill needs like simulating, modeling, and performing analysis on technical systems, covering magnetic, mechanics, electronics, hydraulics, controls, and other physical behavior. The huge component libraries with application-oriented model elements provide you with the tools that are right for the task. The advantages include performing higher simulation-based experiments to find potential design problems instantly and using models to analyze the effects of several design changes, resulting in the shortening of development time.
You can reduce costs by utilizing visual prototypes without having to build physical prototypes. Use a virtual plant to test control and develop the hardware and software while the system has not yet been built. Make a digital copy of the system capable of running beside the real system to watch system condition and identify problems. SimulationX can be used in various fields and has benefits for these areas like Aerospace, Automotive, Energy Technology, and Mobile Machinery.
#8 Minsky
Minsky is a cross-platform tool for BSD, Windows, Mac, and Linux that adds monetary modeling and system dynamics to economics. It defines models by making use of flowcharts on a drawing canvas like Stella, Simulink from Matlab, Vensim, and more. The feature that sets it apart from the rest is the “Godley Table,” which produces stock-flow consistent models of financial flows using double-entry bookkeeping.
Minsky provides a math-like interface in system dynamic comes in handy for demonstrating mathematics. The features include a detailed instruction manual, Graphic modeling environment similar to MATLAB’s Simulink and Vensim, Export of system as SVG, XML, and LaTeX, System ODE solver, Dynamic graphs embedded in canvas, and the ability to modify simulation parameters on the go to explore the impact of economic policy, and more.
#9 Caedium
Caedium and combines with its plugin to provide a simple and easy-to-use Computation Fluid Dynamics solution system to simplify the process of assessing the performance of 3D models. You can use the add-ons to create the desired 3D or 2D geometry or bring in geometry from a different CAD package. After this, the simulation to find how liquid or gas will flow over geometry can start. Caedium comes with a native cross-platform architecture that allows it to run on Mac OS X and Windows without hassle.
The software can be expanded by adding different add-ons because otherwise, it is not possible to realize the complete geometry and simulation capabilities of the solution. These include Viz Export, Professional, Exchange, RANS Flow, Transient, Panel Flow, and Builder. The add ons can only be utilized by those with a regular subscription. Caedium can be grasped easily and works efficiently, and you can learn more about the physics of model changes as time passes by or when you modify the model in real-time.
Thanks to its unified simulation environment, everyone can change their model on the go and instantly view the results of the changes they have made. There are many examples that can be analyzed by Caedium like Water flow through pipes, Airflow over an aircraft, Airflow over a moving car, and Water flow around a substance. You can evaluate and compare engineering concept designs by using the tools provided by the solution. Share results by printing them out or exporting the images in different formats such as tif, png, pnm, jpg, xpm, and bmp. Add life to a scene by importing background images and more. Other features include Easy activation and updates, Efficient to use, and more.
#10 JModelica
JModelica is a useful and advanced open-source platform developed to help you optimize, simulate, and analyze complex dynamic systems. It is open-source, compatible with Linux, Mac, and Windows, and is based on Modelica. The primary goal of the project is to introduce to the people a viable and decent open-source platform capable of optimization and simulation of Modelica models while providing a platform with high flexibility to serve as a virtual lab for the development and research of algorithms.
Thanks to this, JModelica.org gives you a dedicated platform for the transfer of technology where problems relevant to the industry can inspire new research and where modern algorithms can be pulled from academia into industrial usage. The platform came into existence due to the research carried out by Lund university’s Department of Automatic Control and is now looked after by Modelon AB in close cooperation with academia.
#11 Uyamak
Uyamak is an online simulation tool that makes learning mathematics more entertaining. It provides a powerful editor to help design and simulate a mathematical model. It utilizes a pictorial method of designing. You can make ready the algorithms by linking different blocks with the wires. The tool is ideal for students of all levels as well as researchers. The application is under active development, and new features are being added to it regularly.
Uyamak successfully identifies the algorithm, which is a block diagram made by the user through JavaScript. After this is done, it generates an execution order and forwards it to the simulation engine, and the engine then runs one block at a time. It ensures the responsiveness of the GUI during the execution of the simulation by utilizing Web workers for multi-threading. What makes the tool unique is its ability to function without performance issues on a school computer, laptop, and another system with access to the internet.
The code runs on the PC, removing the need to get a fast internet connection for the job. It enables sharing by allowing you to download the program on the computer or use another method that involves saving and then sharing it to the Google Drive storage. It is fully capable of running on a browser, and as such, can be used on multiple operating systems with issues. You won’t have to learn and use coding knowledge because everything is visual programming, which is as easy as drawing a block diagram.
#12 Scicos
Scicos is a graphical dynamical system simulator and modeler that makes it easy for you to create block diagrams for modeling and simulating the dynamics of hybrid dynamical systems and also comes in handy for compiling the models into executable code. The applications of the tool include studying biological and physical systems, signal processing, queuing systems, and system control. By using the latest extensions, it enables the preparation of component-based modeling of hydraulic and electrical circuits via the Modelica language.
The features include exploring the capability of new Scicos by utilizing additional toolboxes, Execute simulations in batch mode through Scilab environment, Write new blocks in Scilab, C, or Fortran language, Utilize the implicit blocks programmed in the Modelica language, Choose model elements from Palettes of standard blocks, and use a Code Generator to generate C code from Scicos, and leverage the power of Scicos-FLEX, and Scicos-RTAI to generate hard real-time control executables.
#13 Simulink
Simulink is a powerful graphical programming environment based on MATLAB that gives you the tools to model, simulate, and analyze multidomain dynamical systems. It is aimed at Model-Based Design and has a structure that combines both Modeling and Automation. It helps in the full process starting from Concepts and Ending at Operation, and this will be discussed in the next few lines. Market-leading companies looking to transform the development of complex systems move towards the adoption of Model-based Design by utilizing models.
You can test and simulate the system in the early stages by using a virtual model. Design can be validated using rapid prototyping, physical models, and Hardware-in-the-Loop testing. The solution helps in the generation of production-quality VHDL, C, Verilog, C++, PLC, and CUDA code and then directly deploys it to your embedded system. Easily Maintain a digital thread with traceability via code and tests, requirements, component design, and system architecture.
You can extend the models to systems during operation to fulfill fault analysis and predictive maintenance. Simulink is also well suited for Simulation, offering multiple benefits like running heavy simulations on the cloud, multicore desktops, and clusters, deployment of simulation models for Hardware-in-the-Loop testing, desktop, and real-time, and instantly performing the evaluation of several design ideas in a single multidomain simulation environment.
The solution also comes in handy for Model-Based Systems Engineering and Agile Software Development. Additionally, users with MATLAB can use it and Simulink together to get the full power of graphical and textual programming in a single environment. They can apply their knowledge to analyze the results of a simulation, Optimize Parameters, Create new blocks, and Write automation and test scripts.
#14 BrainBox
BrainBox is a cross-platform and open-source solution for Linux, Windows, and Mac that enables you to build and simulate circuits without hassle. It gives everyone the opportunity to connect objects graphically right inside a powerful and amazing web browser application without asking them for any coding or hacking knowledge. Logic gates are an essential requirement of any digital system. It is an electronic system that has more multiple input and output.
A certain logic is utilized for the relationship between the input and output. And because of this, the logic gates are given names as NOT, AND, OR. BrainBox makes it easy for you to edit and run any digital circuit simulation design in a myriad of ways, including e-book readers, PCs, smartphones, Macs, smart TVs, and thin clients while not needing to install any tool. It can be used with maximum convenience in the office, home, or classroom, and you also have the ability to connect Raspberry Pi to accelerate real physical devices.