Simplifying the OpenFlexure microscope software with the web of things.
Authors
Publication Date
2021-11Journal Title
R Soc Open Sci
ISSN
2054-5703
Publisher
The Royal Society
Volume
8
Issue
11
Language
en
Type
Article
This Version
AO
VoR
Metadata
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Collins, J. T., Knapper, J., McDermott, S., Ayazi, F., Bumke, K. E., Stirling, J., & Bowman, R. W. (2021). Simplifying the OpenFlexure microscope software with the web of things.. R Soc Open Sci, 8 (11) https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211158
Abstract
We present the OpenFlexure Microscope software stack which provides computer control of our open source motorised microscope. Our diverse community of users needs both graphical and script-based interfaces. We split the control code into client and server applications interfaced via a web API conforming to the W3C Web of Things standard. A graphical interface is viewed either in a web browser or in our cross-platform Electron application, and gives basic interactive control including common operations such as Z stack acquisition and tiled scanning. Automated control is possible from Python and Matlab, or any language that supports HTTP requests. Network control makes the software stack more robust, allows multiple microscopes to be controlled by one computer, and facilitates sharing of equipment. Graphical and script-based clients can run simultaneously, making it easier to monitor ongoing experiments. We have included an extension mechanism to add functionality, for example controlling additional hardware components or adding automation routines. Using a Web of Things approach has resulted in a user-friendly and extremely versatile software control solution for the OpenFlexure Microscope, and we believe this approach could be generalized in the future to make automated experiments involving several instruments much easier to implement.
Keywords
Engineering, Research articles, web technologies, hardware/software interfaces, system architectures, integration and modelling
Sponsorship
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/R011443/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/R013969/1)
Identifiers
rsos211158
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211158
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/330853
Rights
Licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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