[OpenSPIM] API(s) for OpenSPIM control of laser intensity?

[Luke Stuyvenberg]

On 07/26/13, Johannes Schindelin  wrote:
> I wonder whether it would not make a lot of sense to unify the laser
> device adapters to agree on the same mechanism to set the laser power,
> whether that be a property or a to-be-introduced API method.
> 
> In the short run, I would actually favor a solution where the SPIM plugin
> detects that the laser is a Cobolt and uses the appropriate property name
> of an unmodified Cobolt device adapter.

This is precisely what I intend to do. Basically, I expect we'll need some associative map of device adapter names (i.e. "PicardStage" or "Cobolt") to the correct property name, minimum and maximum (be they properties or constant values), and a multiplier (to settle the issue below).


> > The slider uses the "Minimum Laser Power" and "Maximum Laser Power"
> > values as limits, but only allows quantum steps of 10mW. Is there a way
> > to tweak this and allow a 1mW precision? 
> 
> Maybe we should enhance the sliders so that a double-click lets you set
> the value? Or even better, have a text box at the side which lets you
> enter an exact value?


We do have a text box, ala the motors tab; unfortunately, the two device adapters (or more precisely, the two devices) operate on different power scales: where the Cube is on mW, the Cobolt is on W. Any unified laser control will need to take different scales into account (since this is, most unfortunately, a property of the laser's control module, and not our code).


Luke