PyOpticon: An Open-Source Python Package for Laboratory Control, Automation, and Visualization

In modern materials science and chemistry laboratories, there are many opportunities for control, data acquisition, and automation software to enhance the quality and throughput of research. Desirable traits for such software include low cost, easy and speedy implementation, compatibility with existing instruments, and the flexibility to build and modify one’s own control software. In this article, we present PyOpticon, a free and open-source Python package for controlling and acquiring data from benchtop experimental setups. PyOpticon desktop applications, termed “dashboards”, provide graphical interfaces to control different combinations of physical devices, each represented onscreen by a “widget”. We describe PyOpticon’s features with respect to graphical interfaces, remote control of experimental setups, data logging, safety interlocks, and automation capabilities. We highlight the ability to script complex or repetitive experiments using Python code. While existing commercial software tools offer such features, PyOpticon makes them available for free to researchers with only a basic knowledge of Python, who can then adjust and reconfigure their control software without outside help. Detailed online documentation and tutorials are available to support new users. We discuss the package’s structure, offer examples of its implementation, and demonstrate its use in experiments on the photocatalytic total oxidation of dilute methane.