Hardware 1 - Getting started

Here we discuss how to build a custom hardware plug-in for ScopeFoundry. If one is not available in our list of plug-ins, you can build one based on this tutorial.

Hardware - 1 goals:

• learn basic ScopeFoundry concepts of ScopeFoundry.HardwareComponent
• created a plugin - virtual sine wave generator, virtual because we just simulate values

Hardware - 2 goals:

• Tipps to create the low level interface that connects to an actual device

The template

To get started, in your anaconda prompt or terminal cd to your folder and run the ScopeFoundry.tools:

# cd "to/your_project_folder"
conda activate scopefoundry

python -m ScopeFoundry.tools

Fill out the new hardware tab as below and hit create new hardware:

Note, that this generated the required files in your ScopeFoundryHW folder. You can copy the content of import statements into your fancy_app.py file (that you already have generated in a prev tutorial renamed from example_2d_slow_scan_app.py to fancy_app.py). If you used the values entered above your fancy_app.py should look like:

# fancy_app.py
import sys

from ScopeFoundry import BaseMicroscopeApp


class FancyApp(BaseMicroscopeApp):

    name = "fancy app"

    def setup(self):

        from ScopeFoundryHW.random_number_gen import (NumberGenHw,
                                                      NumberGenReadout)
        self.add_hardware(NumberGenHw(self))
        self.add_measurement(NumberGenReadout(self))

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = FancyApp(sys.argv)
    # app.settings_load_ini("default_se ttings.ini")
    sys.exit(app.exec_())

From here, in general, 2 files in ScopeFoundryHW/random_number_gen are important and will be modified to complete part 1:

Low level interface: number_gen_dev.py

In general, this file functions as a low-level interface between ScopeFoundry and a process or demon running on the operating system that communicates with the hardware. For now, this file will be just given, and simulates a sine wave function generator. In part 2 we give some tips on how to write this in practice.

Go ahead and replace the content of random_gen_dev.dev with the following content

# number_gen_dev.py
import time

import numpy as np

class NumberGenDev:

    """
    This is the low level dummy device object.
    Typically when instantiated it will connect to the real-world
    Methods allow for device read and write functions
    """
        
    def __init__(self, port=None, debug=False):
        """We would connect to the real-world here
        if this were a real device
        """
        self.port = port
        self.debug = debug
        print("NumberGenDev: Connecting to port", port)
        self.write_amp(1)

    
    def write_amp(self, amplitude):
        """
        A write function to change the device's amplitude
        normally this would talk to the real-world to change
        a setting on the device
        """
        self._amplitude = amplitude
            
    def read_rand_num(self):
        """
        Read function to access a Random number generator. 
        Acts as our scientific device picking up a lot of noise.
        """
        rand_data = np.random.ranf() * self._amplitude
        return rand_data
    
    def read_sine_wave(self):
        """
        Read function to access a sine wave.
        Acts like the device is generating a 1Hz sine wave
        with an amplitude set by write_amp
        """
        sine_data = np.sin(time.time()) * self._amplitude
        return sine_data

if __name__ == '__main__':
    print('start')
    dev = NumberGenDev(port="COM1", debug=True)
    print(dev.read_sine_wave())
    print('done')

Some comments:

When we create an instance of this device class, we begin communication with the device. Other methods with names starting with read_ or write_ are the messages we can pass back and forth to the device.

In this case, we defined a method read_rand_num which uses a random number generator from numpy and returns a random value every time it’s called. This function is referenced in the hardware plugin section below code.

In the case where you would like to connect to real scientific equipment and define basic functions based on its communication protocol, I would recommend the following:

• Define whichever addresses and ports you would like to use using variables defined in the module’s __init__() method.
• Then define a write function which can send messages to the device over RS232, Ethernet, via DLL or other protocol as required.

The actual ScopeFoundry Hardware plug-in

The next step is to create a subclass ScopeFoundry.hardware.HardwareComponent that will be added to the app.

The required methods are: setup(), connect(), and disconnect().

# number_gen_hw.py
from ScopeFoundry.hardware import HardwareComponent


class NumberGenHw(HardwareComponent):

    name = "number_gen"

    def setup(self):
        s = self.settings
        s.New("port", str, initial="COM1", description="has no effect for this dummy device")
        s.New("amplitude", float, initial=1.0, ro=False)
        s.New("rand_data", float, initial=0, ro=True)
        s.New("sine_data", float, initial=0, ro=True)

    def connect(self):
        from .number_gen_dev import NumberGenDev

        s = self.settings
        self.dev = NumberGenDev(s["port"], debug=s["debug_mode"])

        # Connect settings to hardware:
        s.get_lq("amplitude").connect_to_hardware(write_func=self.dev.write_amp)
        s.get_lq("rand_data").connect_to_hardware(read_func=self.dev.read_rand_num)
        s.get_lq("sine_data").connect_to_hardware(read_func=self.dev.read_sine_wave)

        # Take an initial sample of the data.
        self.read_from_hardware()

    def disconnect(self):
        if not hasattr(self, "dev"):
            return

        self.settings.disconnect_all_from_hardware()
        del self.dev

    # if you want to continuously update settings implement *run* method
    # def run(self):
    #     self.settings.property_x.read_from_hardware()
    #     time.sleep(0.1)

There are several critical components contained within this module which essentially handle signals, settings, and links to low-level device functions.

For the sake of simplicity, we’ve omitted hardware level signals in this basic tutorial.

• class: We make our module a subclass of HardwareComponent.

  • setup()

    • Here we set up a few settings for this hardware, these settings are LoggedQuantity objects that contain a hardware value that can be read or written. This object helps keep this value in sync between hardware, measurement and graphical interface.

  • connect()

    • We define an object self.dev which instantiates the low-level device wrapper and thereby accesses hardware functions.
    • Using connect_to_hardware() we link to the device level self.dev.rand_func. Every time we call settings.get_lq("rand_data").read_from_hardware(), the linked functions will be called.
    • We run self.read_from_hardware() to update all hardware-connected settings with initial readout values.

  • disconnect()

    • We clean up the mess we made by removing objects after use.

By having the connect() and disconnect() we can cleanly reconnect hardware during an App run. This is especially useful when debugging a hardware plug-in to a new device.

The final result

Test by running:

python fancy_app.py

You should see:

Note that we have implicitly created and added a measurement to the app. It is not working yet, this will be part of the next tutorial.