Exercise - Visualize and interact with simulated operations data using SignalR

  • 7 minutes

Important

Be aware that this simulation generates a significant amount of data that simulates real-world operations. Azure consumption occurs. Remember to stop the simulator whenever it isn't needed to avoid unnecessary charges on your Azure account.

In this unit, you use the Visual Studio s solution to simulate an operating wind farm. You also send telemetry data to Azure Digital Twins, where your newly configured digital twin in Unity receives input and displays wind-farm operating conditions.

Begin the wind farm device simulation

  1. In Visual Studio, open DeviceSimulator.sln.

  2. Run the device simulator by selecting the Play button or F5.

  3. A console window opens that displays turbine IDs and messages indicating connectivity and device retrieval and creation.

    Screenshot of the command window open and running the device simulator solution with turbine IDs and connectivity messages displayed.

  4. Press any key to begin the simulation. If configured properly and connected to the correct Azure services, there are a series of streaming console messages Message Received, which indicate that the Azure Digital Twins service has acknowledged the receipt of the simulated IoT data.

    Screenshot of the command window open and running the device simulator solution with console messages displayed from the simulated IoT data.

Launch the digital twin in Unity editor

  1. Select the Play button in the Unity editor. The editor switches to the Game tab automatically and begins rendering your scene. The data in the UI panels reflect the data being generated from the DeviceSimulator application running.

    Screenshot of the Unity editor in play mode with the device simulator running.

  2. Navigate in the Game tab by pressing and holding your right mouse button while you navigate. Move the scene so that the white circle hovers over a turbine or a turbine name. In the Site Overview Menu panel, you see the Turbine Panel with specifics for that Turbine asset.

    Screenshot of the command window open and running the device simulator solution with updated console messages are displayed from the simulated IoT data.

  3. Observe what happens to the data displayed in the Site Overview Menu and Turbine Panel in your Unity Game view.

    Screenshot of the Unity editor in play mode with the device simulator running and updated turbine data.

  4. Observe wind-turbine performance data by selecting the scriptable object of interest. Select Assets > ScriptableObjects > Turbine Site Data > T103. Examine the incoming data in the Wind Turbine Data section of the Inspector panel. You should see the Time Interval, Wind Speed, Ambient Temperature, Rotor Speed, and Power fluctuate as new telemetry messages are consumed by the application.

    Screenshot of the Unity Inspector with a turbine prefab selected.

Stop the DeviceSimulator

Stopping the simulator is important to ensure you avoid unnecessary charges to your Azure account. Press Ctrl+C in the command prompt window or select Stop in Visual Studio.