the labscript suite

Experiment control and automation system


The labscript suite is a powerful and extensible framework for experiment composition, control, execution, and analysis. Developed for quantum science and quantum engineering, from laboratory to in-field devices. Applicable to optics, microscopy, materials engineering, biophysics, and any application predicated on the repetition of parameterised, hardware-timed experiments.

Features

  • Flexible and automated oversight of heterogeneous hardware.

  • The most mature and widely used open-source control system in quantum science.

  • Multiple analysis-based feedback modes.

  • Extensible plugin architecture (e.g. machine learning online optimisation).

  • Readily integrates with other software, including image acquisition, analysis, and even other control systems.

  • Compose experiments as human-readable Python code, leveraging modularity, revision control and re-use.

  • Dynamic visualisation of experiment composition and results.

  • Remote operation: different modules can run on physically separate hosts / single modules can be run on multiple hosts (including hardware supervisor, blacs).

  • Auto-generating user-interfaces.

  • High-level scripting: all user-interface interaction can be programatically synthesised.

Citing the labscript suite

If you use the labscript suite to control your experiment or perform analysis, please cite one or more of the following publications:

P. T. Starkey, A software framework for control and automation of precisely timed experiments. PhD thesis, Monash University (2019).
@phdthesis{starkey_phd_2019,
   title = {State-dependent forces in cold quantum gases},
   author = {Starkey, P. T.},
   year = {2019},
   url = {https://doi.org/10.26180/5d1db8ffe29ef},
   doi = {10.26180/5d1db8ffe29ef},
   school = {Monash University},
}
C. J. Billington, State-dependent forces in cold quantum gases. PhD thesis, Monash University (2018).
@phdthesis{billington_phd_2018,
   title = {State-dependent forces in cold quantum gases},
   author = {Billington, C. J.},
   year = {2018},
   url = {https://doi.org/10.26180/5bd68acaf0696},
   doi = {10.26180/5bd68acaf0696},
   school = {Monash University},
}
A scripted control system for autonomous hardware-timed experiments, Review of Scientific Instruments 84, 085111 (2013). arXiv:1303.0080.
@article{labscript_2013,
   author = {Starkey, P. T. and Billington, C. J. and Johnstone, S. P. and
             Jasperse, M. and Helmerson, K. and Turner, L. D. and Anderson, R. P.},
   title = {A scripted control system for autonomous hardware-timed experiments},
   journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
   volume = {84},
   number = {8},
   pages = {085111},
   year = {2013},
   doi = {10.1063/1.4817213},
   url = {https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4817213},
   eprint = {https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4817213}
}

Todo

discussion on python vs. conda and regular vs. developer install

(The original entry is located in /home/docs/checkouts/readthedocs.org/user_builds/philipstarkey-labscriptsuite/checkouts/latest/docs/source/installation/index.rst, line 4.)

Todo

Development versions will be suffixed with devN, i.e.

(.venv) C:\Users\wkheisenberg\labscript-suite> pip install -i https://test.pypi.org/simple runmanager==2.6.0dev3

(The original entry is located in /home/docs/checkouts/readthedocs.org/user_builds/philipstarkey-labscriptsuite/checkouts/latest/docs/source/installation/regular-pypi.rst, line 126.)