Open Instrument Control (OIC)
Open protocols for test and measurement
Open Instrument Control (OIC) is a suite of open-source transport-level protocols for communicating with test and measurement (T&M) instruments, such as oscilloscopes and digital multimeters. Currently, only proprietary solutions exist, with limited platform support and restrictive licensing. Researchers must manage complex dependencies and cannot assume compatibility across devices and platforms. Consequently, lab automation is uncommon, leaving significant unrealised efficiency gains. OIC provides an open-source alternative which is cross-platform by default and can be bundled into a binary, eliminating friction. Specifically, OIC will deliver implementations of HiSLIP (LAN) and USBTMC (USB) protocols, each of which will be validated in real-world experiments. Scientists and engineers working with test and measurement devices will have access to free and portable libraries for automating their lab workflows. OIC eliminates obstacles which have to date restricted lab automation and allows anyone to freely build software based on it, fostering greater competition in the industry.
This project was funded through the NGI0 Commons Fund, a fund established by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission's Next Generation Internet programme, under the aegis of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement No 101135429. Additional funding is made available by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
