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Paper: A Multi-protocol Communication System for Maintenance Procedures of the ASTRI-Horn Cherenkov Camera
Volume: 532, ASTRONOMICAL DATA ANALYSIS SOFTWARE AND SYSTEMS XXX
Page: 117
Authors: Corpora, M.; Sangiorgi, P.; Sottile, G.; Capalbi, M.
Abstract: Usually, instrumentation for astronomy are complex systems consisting of different hardware subsystems, which communicate by standard communication protocols or their own protocols. This is the case of the ASTRI-Horn Cherenkov Camera, an instrument designed in the context of the ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) project which is a collaborative international effort led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). The Camera is composed of several hardware subsystems (as power supply system, thermal control system, photon detection modules, etc.) which communicate by different protocols. The instrument commissioning and science verification phases are now completed. Currently, maintenance activities are ongoing and new features are being integrated based on the lesson learned. In this upgrade activity, an easy-to-use hardware and software system has been developed to be used during laboratory test operations in order to add new functionalities. This system allows computers to easily communicate with hardware devices that implement the usual standard communication protocols (as UART, SPI, I2C, etc.) by simplifying and speeding up the laboratory activities. The system consists of a hardware device and a software application, and it can be used without knowing programming languages and/or protocol characteristics. In this contribution, a description of the hardware and software components is given.
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