The EPICS Software Framework Moves from Controls to Physics

The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS), is an open-source software framework for high-performance distributed control, and is at the heart of many of the world’s large accelerators and telescopes. Recently, EPICS has undergone a major revision, with the aim of better computing supporting for the next generation of machines and analytical tools. Many new data types, such as matrices, tables, images, and statistical descriptions, plus users’ own data types, now supplement the simple scalar and waveform types of the former EPICS. New computational architectures for scientific computing have been added for high-performance data processing services and pipelining. Python and Java bindings have enabled powerful new user interfaces. The result has been that controls are now being integrated with modelling and simulation, machine learning, enterprise databases, and experiment DAQs. We introduce this new EPICS (version 7) from the perspective of accelerator physics and review early adoption cases in accelerators around the world

Control System for the LEDA 6.7-MeV Proton Beam Halo Experiment

Measurement of high-power proton beam-halo formation is the ongoing scientific experiment for the Low Energy Demonstration Accelerator (LEDA) facility. To attain this measurement goal, a 52-magnet beam line containing several types of beam diagnostic instrumentation is being installed. The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) and commercial software applications are presently being integrated to provide a real-time, synchronous data acquisition and control system. This system is comprised of magnet control, vacuum control, motor control, data acquisition, and data analysis. Unique requirements led to the development and integration of customized software and hardware. EPICS real-time databases, Interactive Data Language (IDL) programs, LabVIEW Virtual Instruments (VI), and State Notation Language (SNL) sequences are hosted on VXI, PC, and UNIX-based platforms which interact using the EPICS Channel Access (CA) communication protocol. Acquisition and control hardware technology ranges from DSP-based diagnostic instrumentation to the PLC-controlled vacuum system. This paper describes the control system hardware and software design, and implementation.Comment: LINAC2000 Conference, 4 pg

Similarities and Differences of the Dam Giong Epics (Vietnam) and Reamker (Cambodia), Ramakien (Thailand), PhraLakPhra Lam (Laos) (Note 1)

There are a lot of similarities and differences in The Dam Giong epics of Bahnar ethnic in Central Highlands-Vietnam and Reamkerepic (Cambodia), Ramakien epic (Thailand) and PhraLakPhra Lam epic (Laos). Although there are some similarities in content and themes, these epics differ in capacity, structure, character system and some other artistic elements. Reamker, Ramakien, PhraLakPhra Lam are short independent epics, deriving from Ramayana epic (Indian). Meanwhile, The Dam Giong epics, about a hero named Giong, have a large capacity of hundreds of epics. These epics derive from myths, legends and creeds of Bahnar ethnic in the Central Highlands-Vietnam, especially, they are “living” epics. Nowadays, the epics of Dam Giong are still being circulated and they are developing in the lives of Bahnar ethnic. Currently, in Central Highlands-Vietnam, the epics of Dam Giong are still composed and the number of these epics is constantly increasing