MONTREAL, July 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For scientists and engineers working in labs, controlling and reading instruments from a computer can be expensive and cumbersome. Software for connecting common lab devices to a PC is often pricey, and has its limits.

Demand is growing for a new way forward in data acquisition — one based on Python, an open-source, free and easy-to-learn programming language. Plotly Technologies is answering the call with a new product, Dash DAQ. It provides Python users the means to create interactive virtual control panels on their computers that interface with common lab instruments.

MIT Tata Center Fellow, David Hagan, on the need for Python in data acquisition:

Building data acquisition systems and their accompanying GUIs is a large part of the analytical sciences. Typically, this entails learning a new programming language like LabVIEW, figuring out OS-specific driver issues, etc.

With Dash DAQ’s Python/React-based stack, it will be far easier to build and maintain simple, reliable GUI’s that are easily portable across devices via the browser, and take advantage of the powerful graphics-rendering capabilities built into all of Plotly’s tools.

Dash DAQ leverages one of the most popular programming languages around, so developing GUIs will be more accessible than ever.

Dash DAQ is built upon Plotly’s open-source platform, Dash, a framework for creating analytics applications. Some Plotly customers using Dash include Amazon, Shell, and Tesla Motors. Users can buy Dash DAQ online to optimize their Dash apps for specialized use in lab settings.

Dash DAQ is designed to provide similar functionality to the popular data acquisition software, LabVIEW, owned by National Instruments. Unlike LabVIEW, Dash DAQ apps are built in Python, which has a large community of scientific users who are already using open-source Python libraries to connect their lab instruments to their computers. Plus, Dash DAQ apps are displayed entirely in the web, allowing users to collaborate and share results in real-time.

“Dash and Dash DAQ are providing the next generation of engineers and scientists with a modern, web-based means to control, test, and read their equipment and communicate results across their organizations,” said Jack Parmer, co-founder and CEO of Plotly.

Dash DAQ, and a host of demo apps showcasing its use with various lab devices, will be available at https://dashdaq.io from July 30. Media enquiries to: ashley@plot.ly.