NOMAD CAMELS version 1.0 released
NOMAD CAMELS is a new open-source software developed at the Chair of Applied Physics that generates future-oriented research data in line with the FAIR principles in a simple way during experiments. FAIR stands for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable, which are key criteria for the subsequent re-use of data.
With CAMELS any measurement protocol for experiments is conveniently configured via a graphical user interface – without the need of programming skills. CAMELS carries out the experiment, communicates with the instruments and records the measurement data. The special feature: CAMELS automatically acquires all experimental data and metadata accessible to the computer during the measurement and documents them in a clearly structured, standardized file format – in line with the FAIR principles. Optionally, the measurement data obtained in this way can be stored directly in an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN).
CAMELS is being developed to meet the requirements of experiments in solid-state physics. There, experimental setups are often individually assembled from a wide variety of instruments from different vendors and generations. In the past, software for carrying out measurements on such setups always had to be painstakingly programmed – often with insufficient documentation and data acquisition limited to the bare essentials. CAMELS makes this work needless and provides well-documented data enabling even other researchers to understand the experiment and the data.
CAMELS is not only suitable for experiments in solid state physics. Many other research fields have similar requirements for experiments, so that CAMELS can also contribute to valuable data here. In addition, CAMELS can connect directly via network protocols (e.g. EPICS) to large distributed instrumentation, such as found at large synchrotrons.
Scientists at the Chair of Applied Physics are developing NOMAD CAMELS within the framework of FAIRmat – based on many years of experience with an in-house prior software. FAIRmat is the consortium of the Nationale Forschungsdaten Infrastruktur (NFDI) of the German federal and state governments, which is developing a FAIR data infrastructure for solid-state physics and materials science.
After 2.5 years of development, the time has now come for the release of version 1.0 of NOMAD CAMELS. Cheers!
Further information:
- NOMAD CAMELS webpage
- Documentation and instructions for installation and use
- GitHub repository
- A. D. Fuchs, J. A. F. Lehmeyer, H. Junkes, H. B. Weber, M. Krieger (2024). NOMAD CAMELS: Configurable Application for Measurements, Experiments and Laboratory Systems. Journal of Open Source Software, 9(95), 6371. DOI: 10.21105/joss.06371
Want to know more about NOMAD CAMELS? We look forward to hearing from you!
