Silicon LogiX introduces SLX RadioTwin, a desktop demonstrator for studying radio propagation in a three-dimensional industrial plant. The project brings geometry, antenna configuration, obstacles and robot movement into one environment, making it possible to compare how link conditions change. Version 0.2.1 is available on GitHub with a Windows evaluation package.
For a company integrating wireless sensors, gateways or mobile robots, the questions concern what happens along a mission: where does received power fall? Which obstacles does the radio path cross? What difference does a metal door make? RadioTwin makes these questions explorable and documentable, connecting each result to the assumptions that produced it.
Industrial connectivity also depends on geometry
A plant contains surfaces, volumes and passages that affect propagation. Tanks, machine tools, shelving and walls can change the signal path; a door changing state or a moving receiver introduces different conditions even with the same radio parameters. Studying these variations requires a shared reference between object positions, link configuration and numerical results.
The demonstrator uses a scene with 2,584 meshes in its complete representation: a process area with tanks and pumps, CNC machines, a warehouse, a raised control room, robotic arms, an inspection robot, two gateways and a sliding door. The cutaway view allows users to explore the interior, navigate and select components. The RF engine retains the complete enclosure, including walls and the roof, through 373 meshes dedicated to calculations. Opening up the factory view therefore keeps the obstacles in the radio model.
The robot, door and gateways share the scenario state between the visualization and RF geometry. This consistency makes it possible to relate a change in estimated received power to the configuration actually analyzed, while keeping the demonstration animation distinct from experimental measurements.
An explicit RF model with interpretable results
The solver combines free-space path loss with effective losses associated with the obstacles crossed. Intersections are calculated on the triangles of the RF geometry; a BVH, or bounding volume hierarchy, accelerates the search for possible intersections. Antenna positions, frequency, transmit power, gains, receiver sensitivity and material parameters are configurable.
An optional first-order reflection model uses image sources on six enclosure planes. Each path reports power, length and delay. Powers are summed incoherently: this version does not reconstruct the phase interference of a coherent multipath channel. Results distinguish power in dBm, losses and margins in dB, distances in metres and delays in nanoseconds.
Material coefficients are illustrative assumptions, not values calibrated against a real plant. The model supports comparative studies and checks of software behavior; field accuracy requires surveys and calibration. Diffraction, polarization, antenna patterns, protocol traffic and throughput are not simulated in the published version. The RF model documentation describes equations, units and limitations.
From individual links to scenario comparisons
The interface allows users to observe the link as the robot moves, visualize coverage, identify areas with reduced margin and save configurations for comparison. One example is studying an open door against a closed door while keeping the same planned route and radio parameters.
Coverage is sampled on a 49 × 37 grid at receiver height, with points occupied by solids excluded from the count. The mission profile contains 81 samples along the planned 16-metre corridor. The placement search evaluates up to 15 candidates for gateway A, keeps gateway B fixed and compares the worst value of the best link along the route. This is a comparison between defined candidates; mounting feasibility and site performance require separate verification.
The scenario laboratory in the software. The displayed values belong to an example using illustrative coefficients.
Analyses can be exported as PDF, JSON and CSV, retaining the configuration, geometry identity, units and assumptions. For a technical team, this makes it possible to discuss the same configuration, compare alternatives and retrace the reasoning behind a result. Before export, the application requires an updated analysis when the state has changed.
The technologies: C++, Qt Quick and native GPU rendering
RadioTwin demonstrates a software architecture that separates the interface, scenario management and numerical computation. The C++17 core handles asset import, geometry queries, propagation, coverage and candidate evaluation. The desktop presentation uses Qt Quick and QML, while the 3D viewport is implemented in C++ with QQuickRhiItem and Qt RHI, Qt's interface to the graphics backend.
The renderer groups geometry by material and uses GPU buffers. The Windows distribution has been checked with Direct3D 11. GLB/glTF assets retain geometry, materials and hierarchies; coordinate transformations connect the visual representation to the metric system used by the solver. GPU acceleration applies to rendering: RF calculations in this version run on the CPU.
QtConcurrent runs analyses asynchronously on copies of the scenario. The application checks the parameter version before accepting a result, avoiding the presentation of calculations for an earlier configuration as current. The numerical core is distributed as a DLL with a public API and a versioned ABI, while its implementation remains proprietary. This separation provides a starting point for modules and integrations agreed with the customer.
The build uses CMake, Ninja and the Qt 6.12.0 / MinGW GCC 13.1.0 kit. Checks cover reference equations, radio link-budget accounting, reflections, geometry consistency, persistence and scenario comparison. Public-distribution audits also run through GitHub Actions. These checks verify implementation consistency; RF validation at a plant requires independent measured data.
A concrete basis for tailored industrial tools
The value for companies is the opportunity to evaluate a working application and define a specific need: studying a robot route, comparing permitted antenna positions, documenting a scenario or connecting a model to plant data. This provides a basis for a technical discussion about geometry, devices, available measurements and acceptance criteria.
The custom-development section presents eight proposals, explicitly not implemented in the demonstrator. They cover measurement-based calibration and uncertainty quantification; coherent wideband channels with fading and Doppler; MIMO and beam steering; interference and coexistence; robot missions with radio and navigation constraints; network design with redundancy; CAD/BIM, OPC UA or MQTT integration; and research into programmable RIS surfaces and joint communication and sensing.
Each proposal identifies required data, expected outputs and checks to agree on. The application lets users select modules and prepare a local brief containing objectives and constraints. Extensions can then be defined through a feasibility study, a development scope and a validation plan suited to the industrial case.
Evaluate RadioTwin and discuss a project
The SLX RadioTwin repository contains the frontend, public API, binary SDK, assets and examples. Release 0.2.1 includes a Windows x64 package that runs without installing Qt and without radio hardware. A demonstration video with 3D animations and actual software screens is also available.
The license permits study and business evaluation; production integration and distribution of modifications require an agreement with Silicon LogiX. To assess a custom development, contact us with the type of plant, the wireless devices involved, the behavior to analyze and the data already available. These inputs help define the required model, measurement activities and results to verify.
Originally published at Silicon LogiX.
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