Software 1.3.0: measured ⟨g⟩, offset correction and a run analysis page

The September update measures and removes the motion sensor's zero-g offset during a run, adds a Coverage tab, and puts an analysis page in every run folder. Free for every SciSpinner Max.

Software 1.3.0 for the SciSpinner Max is available now. It is a free update, installed from the USB stick supplied with the instrument, and takes about fifteen minutes. Every customer has been sent the update package and the Update Guide; if you have not received yours, write to [email protected].

What changes

Sensor offset correction. Every accelerometer has a small fixed zero-g offset, typically a few thousandths of a g per axis. On a clinostat that offset does not average out: it appears directly in the time-averaged gravity. From 1.3.0 the instrument measures the offset during the run, by fitting a sphere to the sensor's own readings, and removes it. The Gravity tab now shows four decimal places and a status line reading raw or corrected. Quote corrected values in your methods section.

Coverage tab. Shows where gravity has pointed in the sample frame so far, as a map of the unit sphere, and the progress of the offset fit.

A run analysis page. Every run folder now contains analysis.html. Open it in any browser, drop in the run's files, and it reports the offset fit, the corrected ⟨g⟩ over 15-minute and 1-hour windows, sphere coverage and a comparison with the kinematic model, then exports a PDF report, JSON results and corrected per-second data. Nothing is uploaded; it runs on your computer. The same page is hosted on this site.

Data files. sensors.csv gains offset and coverage columns, and a new resources.csv logs CPU, memory and temperature every 30 seconds.

Smaller things. 0.05 rpm is now the lowest running speed, and a set-point of 0 holds an axis still and energised. Stills taken outside a run are saved to the USB drive's captures folder when one is fitted. Every action in the update panel needs two taps, and the firmware row can reflash from the image already on the instrument.

Updating

The update is in three parts, applied in order from one USB drive: the Control Module software, the motion controller firmware and the core computer software. The Update Guide walks through each step from the System page, on the touchscreen or from a phone or laptop joined to the instrument's Wi-Fi. Do not update while an experiment is running.

Component versions after the update: software 1.3.0, motion controller firmware 1.2.1, core software 1.0.19.