dimitrisspacecode/pylablib

Python package for device control and experiment automation

Overview

PyLabLib aims to provide support for device control and experiment automation. It interfaces with lots of different of devices, including several different camera interfaces, translational stages, oscilloscopes, AWGs, sensors, and more. The interface is implemented in a natural way through Python objects, and is easy to understand. For example, here is a complete script which steps Thorlabs KDC101 stage by 10000 steps ten times, and each time grabs a frame with Andor iXon camera:

from pylablib.devices import Thorlabs, Andor  # import the device libraries
import numpy as np  # import numpy for saving

# connect to the devices
with Thorlabs.KinesisMotor("27000000") as stage, Andor.AndorSDK2Camera() as cam:
    # change some camera parameters
    cam.set_exposure(50E-3)
    cam.set_roi(0, 128, 0, 128, hbin=2, vbin=2)
    # start the stepping loop
    images = []
    for _ in range(10):
        stage.move_by(10000)  # initiate a move
        stage.wait_move()  # wait until it's done
        img = cam.snap()  # grab a single frame
        images.append(img)

np.array(images).astype("<u2").tofile("frames.bin")  # save frames as raw binary

The list of the devices is constantly expanding.

Additional utilities are added to simplify data acquisition, storage, and processing:

• Simplified data processing utilities: convenient fitting, filtering, feature detection, FFT (mostly wrappers around NumPy and SciPy).
• Universal multi-level dictionaries which are convenient for storing heterogeneous data and settings in human-readable format.
• Assorted functions for dealing with file system (creating, moving and removing folders, zipping/unzipping, path normalization), network (simplified interface for client and server sockets), strings (conversion of various Python objects to and from string), and more.

The most recent version of the library is available on GitHub (https://github.com/AlexShkarin/pyLabLib), and the documentation can be found at https://pylablib.readthedocs.io/ .

Requirements

• Python 3 (tested with 3.6+)
• Most extensively tested with Windows 10 and 64-bit Python. Linux is, in principle, supported, but devices which require manufacturer-provided DLLs (mostly cameras) might, potentially, have problems.
• Basic version only needs numpy, SciPy and pandas. Advanced device communication packages (such as PyVISA and pySerial) are automatically installed, but can be avoided if necessary.
• Some devices might require additional software. If this is the case, the requirements are mentioned on the corresponding page.

Installation

You can install the library from PyPi:

pip install pylablib

More options are described in the documentation.

Related projects

Pylablib cam-control - software for universal camera control and frames acquisition.