Data-logging software yields visual interface for Raspberry Pi

By Carolyn Mathas, contributing writer

Raspberry Pi, one of the most popular single-board computer platforms, is now supported by Pico Technology’s advanced data-logging software. Tested and optimized for Raspberry Pi 4 and the current 3B and 3B+ on Raspbian Stretch, Pico’s PicoLog 6 software provides a visual interface that assists in setting up a wide range of acquisitions and records, views, and analyzes the data. This is Pico’s first fully supported software package for Raspberry Pi.

Adding additional graph axes is also essential for multi-channel logging applications. With the PicoLog 6, the user can view up to four axes with different ranges at a time.

Offering greater flexibility, the software also opens up the ways that Pico’s data loggers can be used. For example, the logger can be connected to the PI and remove the keyboard, mouse, and video for an inexpensive standalone logger to store data on a Pi SD-Card. When connecting Pi by Wi-Fi or Ethernet, the Pico logger can be internet-enabled and remotely accessed using an open-source VNC server and viewer. The Power over Ethernet (PoE) function on the Raspberry Pi 3B, paired with the PoE PiHAT, eliminates the need for an external power supply and powered USB hub, while the logger is internet-enabled.

Features include real-time collection and display, visual logger and channel setup for easy configuration and viewing, and up to four independent graph axes. Logging capacity to the PC is virtually unlimited, and the database format minimizes data loss and corruption. It’s available for use on Windows 7, 8, and 10 (32- and 64-bit), macOS, and Linux. It also supports multiple PicoLog data loggers and PicoScope 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000.

The PicoLog 6 software is available and can be downloaded for free at Pico Technology.