vc2_webapp

Browser-based controller for the vc2 16-valve pneumatic station. It is a web reimplementation of the matplotlib GUI (vc2/vc2_gui.py), providing the same controls from any browser on the network.

The firmware (vc2/vc2.ino) runs on an Arduino Giga R1, which drives 16 GP8403 DACs (0–10 V) across two I2C buses:

• Valves 0–7 on Wire (SDA/SCL)
• Valves 8–15 on Wire1 (SDA1/SCL1)

The web app talks to the Giga R1 over USB serial @115200 using the exact same command protocol as the original Python scripts.

Features

• Live bar display of all 16 valves (mV + converted bar pressure)
• Per-valve input box — type a value + Enter to fire that valve, or off
• APPLY ALL — fire every non-empty box in one batched serial command
• TIME (s) — ramp duration. Blank or 0 fires instantly (default behaviour); a positive value linearly ramps each commanded valve from its current value to the target over that many seconds. Applies to both single sets and APPLY ALL. Ramps are streamed as intermediate setpoints over serial (~25 Hz) from the backend, since the firmware sets the DAC directly.
• STOP — emergency stop (all valves off; cancels any ramps in progress)
• ? STATUS — query all valve states
• Activity log of Arduino responses
• 4000 max value enforced (client + server), matching the original scripts

Install

pip install -r requirements.txt

Run

With the Giga R1 connected over USB:

python app.py                 # auto-detect serial port
python app.py /dev/ttyACM0    # explicit port

Then open http://localhost:5000 (or the host machine's IP from another device on the same network).

Options

python app.py [port] [--host HOST] [--http-port PORT]

Option	Default	Description
port	auto	Serial port (e.g. /dev/ttyACM0)
--host	0.0.0.0	Web server bind host
--http-port	5000	Web server port

Command protocol (handled by the Giga R1 / vc2.ino)

Command	Meaning
valve,value	Set single valve (e.g. 0,3000)
v1,val1,v2,val2,...	Set multiple valves
valve,off	Turn off a valve
s	Emergency stop
?	Query status
p	Ping

Pressure conversion

The device maps 0–10 V to −100…500 kPa, so:

bar = ((mV / 1000) * 60 - 100) / 100   (clamped to >= 0)

Project layout

vc2_webapp/
├── app.py                # Flask + SocketIO server
├── valve_controller.py   # serial layer (adapted from vc2/vc2_control.py)
├── requirements.txt
├── templates/index.html
└── static/{style.css, app.js}