Doberman: Open-Source Slow Control System for Physics Experiments
Researchers have developed Doberman, an open-source software system designed to monitor and control small- to medium-scale physics experiments. The system fills a gap between complex industrial frameworks and basic laboratory solutions by offering modular architecture, web-based visualization, and distributed deployment capabilities. The tool has been validated across multiple experimental setups, from underground gamma-ray spectrometers to large liquid xenon facilities, and is now publicly available.
Doberman (Detector OBsERving and Monitoring ApplicatioN) is a lightweight, modular slow control system released as open-source software for physics experiments. It provides a flexible architecture that supports heterogeneous instrumentation, automated control, and robust alarm handling—capabilities that address the practical gap between heavyweight industrial SCADA frameworks and informal laboratory solutions. The accompanying web-based graphical interface, Doberview, enables live visualization, configuration, and real-time control of experimental systems, supporting both routine operations and rapid response to anomalies. The system has been successfully deployed and validated across diverse experimental setups, ranging from a remotely operated underground gamma-ray spectrometer to a large, heavily instrumented liquid xenon test facility monitoring several hundred quantities. Both Doberman and Doberview are released under permissive open-source licenses with full documentation and example device integrations publicly available.
What different sources said
- arXiv physicsCenter
Doberman: a modular and distributed slow control system for small- to medium-scale experiments
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