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tecan-spark-relay

README.md

service.tecan-spark-relay

The service.tecan-spark-relay is the service layer for interacting with a Tecan Spark® Multimode Plate Reader through the SparkControl API provided by Tecan. This API is not available publicly, so please contact your customer service representiative at Tecan to find out how you can access it.

Supported APIs

Minimum Requirements

  • SparkControl v3.1
  • .NET 5.0
  • A bash-like environment (eg. Git Bash, WSL2)

This service should run on the same Windows machine as the SparkControl software as it has to access the local SparkControl Automation Interface API.

Usage

  • Open the project in Visual Studio 2019 and follow the manual for setting up the SparkControl Automation Interface API.

  • Build the solution in Release mode. This should place the TecanSparkRelay executable in the ./bin/Release directory. You will need to tweak the post-build event for the project to copy the additional Automation Interface files to this same directory.

  • Export the following environment variables to the current shell:

    export REDIS_PUBSUB_URL=<the URL for connecting to the pubsub.redis service>
export MANAGER_DEVICE_NAME=<a unique name for the current device>
export FORWARDER_DATA_GATEWAY_URL=<the base URL for the service.data-gateway>

    Other environment variables that can be configured can be found in Config.cs.

  • Run the server:

    ./bin/Release/TecanSparkRelay.exe server

How it Works

Upon receiving a protocol trigger, the service.tecan-spark-relay generates a corresponding method XML file that can be understood by the Spark®, based on the protocol's name and spec. For an example of how this XML file looks like, see the method XML file template for the MeasureAbsorbance protocol.

This method XML file is then passed to the SparkControl API to be executed. While the method is being executed, the service.tecan-spark-relay is blocked from handling new protocol triggers. You can view the method while it's being executed through the SparkControl Dashboard. If the Spark® stops running midway through, the execution will not complete successfully.

Once the method has completed execution, an XML file containing the measurement data produced by the Spark® is exported via the API. See here for an example of this data export XML file. This file is then parsed and transformed into a format that can be pushed to the service.data-gateway.

Protocols

TecanSpark/v1alpha1

Available protocols can be found under the Protocols directory. Each protocol is named after its corresponding Spark method and contains a README documenting the required spec to trigger it.

Examples of protocol triggers for the service.tecan-spark-relay can be found under protocols/examples/tecan-spark-relay.

Data Export

The service.tecan-spark-relay forwards data produced by the Spark® to the service.data-gateway in the following format:

{
  "timeElapsed": "time elapsed",
  "error": "error",
  "absorbance": "absorbance"
}

Development

Mock SparkControl API

As the SparkControl API is only available on a machine with the SparkControl software installed, it might not always be very convenient when developing on another machine. To facilitate this, a mock implementation of the SparkControl API is provided for local development in the local branch.

Adding New Protocols

To implement new protocols that the service.tecan-spark-relay should handle, follow these steps:

  • Create a new directory for your protocol under Protocols
  • Create a Protocol.cs file and write your implementation for the abstract class Protocol
  • Create a Method.xml file, containing a templated version of the method XML that your protocol should generate. One way to get started with this is to create a dummy version using the SparkControl Method Editor software, then use the ./bin/Release/TecanSpark.exe run export utility to export it as an XML file. You can then edit this XML file accordingly such that it can be templated with the protocol's spec.
  • Add your method to the Registry