FACTA UNIVERSITATIS

Series: Electronics and Energetics Vol. 32, No 1, March 2019, pp. 1-23
https://doi.org/10.2298/FUEE1901001P

APPLICATION OF PYTHON PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

IN MEASUREMENTS

Predrag Pejović

University of Belgrade, School of Electrical Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract. Application of Python programming language in automation of measurement

systems and creating virtual instruments is discussed in this paper. Requirements imposed
to the software in order to perform these tasks are listed, and Python modules that support
them are presented. Application of proposed techniques are illustrated in seven examples
in different application areas. Analysis of software evolution, as well as the evolution of
professional education yields conclusion that application of Python in automating
measurement systems is promising.
Key words: computerized instrumentation, electric variables measurement, impedance
measurement, measurements, measurement techniques, software measurement.

1. INTRODUCTION
Over the years it exists, software evolved. At the beginning of computers, the program
was not stored in the machine, instead the functionality had been hard wired for each
application. A great step forward occurred with stored programs, at first written in a machine
language. Such languages are considered as the first generation of programming languages.
The second generation of programming languages involves assembly languages, somewhat
more readable than the machine languages, but still heavily dependent on particular
instruction set architecture. Finally, the third generation of programming languages, a
prominent example of which was FORTRAN, which appeared among the first in this
generation and gained huge popularity, provided abstraction that separated programmer
from the machine instruction set architecture, enabling code portability. With portable code,
software libraries appeared, accumulating knowledge and programming experience, and
programming became a social activity. High level libraries, like libraries for numeric
computation, are nowadays very rich and complete, and it is the most likely that an everyday
problem a programmer faces is already solved and included in a library. In this manner,
programming became a social activity: a programmer relies on program development tools,
such as compilers and integrated development environments, developed by other programmers,

Received November 12, 2018

Corresponding author: Predrag Pejović
University of Belgrade, School of Electrical Engineering, 73 Kralj Aleksandar Blvd, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
(E-mail: peja@etf.rs) 
2 P. PEJOVIĆ

as well as software libraries, if he or she wants to program efficiently. This focused

programming to solving specific tasks, while general, frequently encountered problems,
already have readily available library solutions. This led to ―gluing‖ languages, designed to
provide efficient inclusion of library solutions, and to glue them together to solve a specific
problem. Evolution of software libraries, growing in size and capabilities on daily basis,
further supported this concept.
A prominent example of a programming language that supports ―gluing‖ concept is
Python [1]. Designed to be readable, with simple and clear syntax, while highly extensible
by inclusion of software libraries, named modules, which can be used comfortably using a
convenient namespace system. Python modules can be written in Python, but also in C or
C++. Furthermore, it is possible to link FORTRAN libraries to Python modules. In this
manner, a wast software heritage could be efficiently used in Python applications. A huge
list of useful modules are included in Python Standard Library [2]. The modules used in
applications focused in this paper are [3–6]. However, real power of Python is in the fact
that it enables easy and straightforward inclusion of user contributed modules, outside the
Python Standard Library. Application of Python in measurements relies on these modules
and their flexibility to adjust to current trends in development of electronics measurement
equipment. Review of such external modules [7–17] needed for automating electrical
measurements and for creating virtual instruments is presented in this paper. Furthermore,
the author of this paper contributed some modules [18–20].
Along with the evolution of computers and computer languages, the people who use
computers evolved, too. In Serbia, the last generations that did not learn programming in
their high school are getting retired nowadays, and the first generations that learned
machine languages, assembly languages, FORTRAN, COBOL, and BASIC in their high
school (―Programmer‖ high school specialization in Serbian high school curricula, lasted
from 1977 to 1989) are about 10 years to retirement. Python is about to start to be taught
in the sixth grade in elementary schools, and many schools and universities worldwide use
Python as the first programming language. Very soon we might expect every professional
in any of the technical or science disciplines to be proficient in programming, and the
most likely, in Python programming language, which is rapidly becoming a standard
language for high level programming.
Many social obstacles are present in automating measurement processes and creating
virtual instruments at the time this article is being written. The driving force of this
impediment are particular human interests, the process common to automation of any
kind. Effects of such temporary impediment are expected to vanish, as they vanished in
any other automation process. For example, nowadays simple electrical measurements are
performed by a digital multimeter, which contains a microcontroller to process the data.
Another example involves building construction, where distance measurements just a few
years ago were dominated by measuring tape, while nowadays almost everyone uses
digital laser distance meter, being a digital device. On the other end of the process, the
measured data are processed by a computer. Who connects the two? In some cases, still a
human, collecting the data, writing it down to a notebook, typing it back to a computer.
Such jobs are likely to disappear, since computer connectivity enabled multimeters are
already available. Common and standardized communication protocols, preferably
wireless, and standardized data processing software are still needed, but they are likely to
appear, since there are no technological obstacles to provide them. Another option
 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 3

provided by computer supported measurements is creation of virtual instruments. As an

example, consider a digital oscilloscope which is a common piece of equipment in any lab
and provides signal samples. By acquiring these samples and by processing them on a
computer, power, apparent power, reactive power, power factor, displacement power
factor, and total harmonic distortion could be measured, which creates virtual instruments
that can measure quantities the oscilloscope initially could not measure.
Current state in evolution of measurement equipment, computers, and the people who
operate both is such that one might expect that most of the measurements in future would
be electronics based, and that the measurement results would be presented in a digital
form. Furthermore, all the data are already processed by computers. Connectivity between
instruments (which are computers in their construction, microcontrollers), and data
processing computers is likely to increase to the level when it becomes an assumed part of
any instrument. Some knowledge of programming is already assumed, and it is likely that
in a decade every professional would be proficient in Python, limiting the need for
graphical programming languages in measurement applications, enabling all the necessary
programming tasks to be performed in a general purpose programming language, not
requiring any specialized knowledge nor training. All these facts suggest that Python is a
convenient choice for a programming language to support measurement automation and
virtual instruments. Such conclusion spontaneously and independently appeared in many
places, resulting in significant amount of available literature, like [21–27]. According to
available literature, it seems that at the moment application of Python in measurements is
the most popular in advanced scientific experiments. Examples of applications which
might find approach proposed in this paper useful are [28–32].
This paper is written at the tenth anniversary of the author's use of Python in electrical
measurements for measurement automation and creation of virtual instruments. All
measurements for the experimental results in [33] and all the papers aggregated in it are
performed using virtual instruments that post-process the data collected using a digital
oscilloscope. The software is ported to Python, as presented in [34]. Furthermore, the
same technology is used to create different instruments and systems in [35–40]. This
paper aggregates gained experiences and lists all the modules and techniques necessary to
design automated measurement systems and virtual instruments, providing some
examples. The choice of tools is made to minimize requirements to application specific
knowledge, and such that all the tools are free software.

2. REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED BY AUTOMATED MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS

AND VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS

At first, let us review functionality required by the design of automated measurement

systems and virtual instruments. At first, communication with instruments should be
provided in full duplex, proving computers with an ability to send commands to
instruments as well as to receive data containing measurement results. The idea is not
new, it originated in late 1960s [41], emerging with HP-IB, later renamed to GPIB after a
wide acceptance, finally standardized as IEE 488 and IEEE 488.2. Thus, about half a
century ago it had been evident that measurements are time consuming and boring, and
that these processes should be automated connecting instruments to a computer.
4 P. PEJOVIĆ

Standardization of commands followed, resulting in SCPI commands in 1990 [42, 43],

almost three decades ago. Nowadays GPIB still exists, however the interface is somewhat
outdated, being expensive, requiring expensive cables, thus being replaced by general purpose
higher bandwidth standard interfaces like USB and Ethernet, where highly applicable
communication hardware is available at low prices due to high production volume.
The second task to be performed is data processing and storage. Computers are efficient
in that, and many libraries to perform these tasks exist, as well as database utilities which
may be required in the case huge datasets are being processed. The third task is data
visualization, since providing graphical representation of measurement results is frequently
required. The fourth group of tasks which are always required covers timestamping and time
control, like providing necessary delays for the system to reach the steady state or providing
timed measurements at required time instants, like in climate parameters monitoring. Also, in
free software, which is in the focus of this paper, it is common practice to use other general
purpose tools to provide specific functionality of the designed system. In an example which
will be covered in this text, for automatic report generation a text processing system LaTeX
is used. To provide such functionality, communication to the operating system should be
provided, to start other programs and to control their execution. In some cases, graphical
user interface is needed, especially in cases when the designed system is going to be used by
less qualified personnel or by many people, so tools for providing this functionality should
be available. For all of the listed tasks, appropriate Python modules are already available as
free software.
In some cases, experimental hardware should be reconfigured during the measurement
process, like in the cases where devices under test should be switched or a reference value
should be changed. An inexpensive way to do that is to use the Arduino platform [44],
which could be easily controlled by a python program using [17]. Arduino Mega [45]
board is of special interest, since it provides a huge number of 54 digital inputs and
outputs at a moderate price.

3. PYTHON MODULES USEFUL FOR AUTOMATED MEASUREMENTS AND VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS

3.1. Communication with Instruments
As already discussed, communication with instruments reduces to exchange of ASCII
strings when the instruments support SCPI [42, 43] commands. Thus, while considering
instrument purchase, support of SCPI should be an important issue, since it enables the
user to create his or her own programs to control the instrument. Nowadays, the most
popular means to communicate to instruments are by USB and by Ethernet, which is also
an issue in instrument selection.
Communication over the USB interface is provided using usbtmc protocol [46].
Python support for this protocol is provided by python-usbtmc module [7]. In [47], a
script to install python-usbtmc on GNU/Linux Debian-based systems (tested on Ubuntu
and Linux Mint distributions) is provided. The module provided effective communication
to Agilent 33220A signal generator [48], Tektronix TBS 1052B-EDU oscilloscope [49],
which is in everyday use in Laboratory for Electronics at the School of Electrical
Engineering, University of Belgrade, in Electrical Measurements class [50], as well as the
 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 5

multimeter [51]. A Python module used to support communication and control of the
oscilloscope [49] is given in [18].
Communication over Ethernet is provided using VXI-11 protocol [52], implemented
in python-vxi11 module [8]. The module has been successfully used in [38] in
communication with [48] and [53], and is in everyday use in [50, 54].
Another popular communication interface used with older equipment is the RS-232
interface. Communication over that interface is supported by python-serial [9] module. Besides,
this module supports communication over USB to some devices, like the Arduino boards [44].
A Python class that supports communication to Tektronix oscilloscope is provided at [19], and
it had been used successfully with TDS 210, TDS 220, TDS 1000, and TPS 2024
oscilloscopes.
Providing communication to measurement equipment is the most specific part of the
measurement automation and the design of virtual instruments as proposed in this paper.
After the communication has been established, everything else is common general-
purpose programming. Communication to instruments according to SCPI [42, 43] reduces
to exchange of ASCII strings, and conversion of such strings is readily available in
Python even with built in functions, which might be supported with string module of the
Python Standard Library if some more complex string operations are needed.

3.2. Data Processing

Data processing required by measurement methods is readily provided in Python using
numpy module [10], primarily. The module provides numerically efficient array objects
and operations over these objects, including basic linear algebra and FFT, among other
numerical methods. In the case some advanced numerical algorithms are needed, scipy
library [11] is available, although most of the tasks are performed by numpy. It is worth to
mention that PyLab programming environment with namespaces set to provide user
friendly numerical programming environment is available [12], although recently
deprecated for encouraging old fashioned programming styles. In the case excessive data
analysis is necessary, Pandas module is available [13].

3.3. Data Visualization

To provide data visualization in Python matplotlib [14] seems to be the best known tool.
It provides data plotting, both 2D and 3D, and saving the diagrams in a plethora formats. It
should be noted that there are other, both well known and mature tools available.

3.4. Timestamping and Time Control

Access to the system clock is provided by time module of the Python Standard Library
[3]. The module is intuitive and comfortable to program with. In both of the Python
versions, 2 and 3, modules with the same names are available for the tasks required by
applications considered in this paper, and only versions of modules for Python 2 are cited
in this document, assuming equivalent module availability for version 3.
6 P. PEJOVIĆ

3.5. Access to Other Programs

In some case, like the automated report generation, it is necessary to access other
programs, like LaTeX [55] or convert [56] for image data format conversion. Such
functionality is provided by sys [4] and os [5] modules of the Python Standard Library [2].

3.6. Graphical User Interface Design

In the case designed system is intended for specific use, with a limited number of
experienced users, it is not likely that creating a graphical user interface (GUI) would be an
interesting option. However, if the audience that uses the program is wider, a GUI is required.
Fortunately, there are many GUI development tools and modules available for Python,
including rapid application development tools. In an example presented in this paper, taken
from [38], the GUI had been created using tkinter [6] module, being the simplest and already
included in the Python Standard Library. Other very popular and advanced tools are available,
like PyQt [15] and wxPython [16], which might be of interest in more complex designs.

4. SUPPORTING PROGRAMS
The use of Python programming language in GNU/Linux environment provides an
option of a simple interfacing with other free software tools. Only two of such programs
would be mentioned: LaTeX [55] which was used for automatic report generation in [34],
resulting in [57], and convert used to convert image data formats provided by the digital
oscilloscope, as used in [18]. Any other program could easily be invoked from python,
and its output used in further processing.

5. THE USE OF ARDUINO PLATFORM

Arduino [44] is a very popular prototyping platform, characterized by free software
and open hardware, which greatly fueled its popularity. The platform itself can be utilized
as an instrument, either using its built-in AD converters, either connecting external high
precision converters. However, a different application would be suggested here, based
upon availability of a large number of digital ports which could be configured either as an
input or as an output: for reconfiguration of the measurement system, and in some cases to
facilitate indication of the system state. Easy and direct interfacing with Python might be
provided using [17], and with [45] up to 54 digital signals could easily be controlled.
Relays operated by Arduino digital output voltage and current levels are readily available,
so reconfiguration of measurement system could be easily provided.

6. APPLICATION EXAMPLES
6.1. Applications in Power Electronics and Electric Power
Power electronics is a principal research area of the author, and he started to use
virtual instrumentation in power electronics, to support research in three phase rectifiers
that resulted in a number of papers aggregated in [33]. The measurements required to
 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 7

support the research included measurement of power, apparent power, reactive power,
power factor, displacement power factor, total harmonic distortion, and efficiency.
Additionally, characterization of components, like recording magnetizing curves and
analyzing component constitutive relations and losses were required. Specific equipment
to perform these tasks are nowadays available, but being narrow in application and highly
expensive. For the research purposes, virtual instruments had been created, performing
digital post-processing of recorded waveforms. After the Python based instrumentation
had been introduced, being entirely based on free software, the methods had been ported
to education, to laboratory exercises in Power Electronics 2 [34]. To illustrate automation
of measurement process, a 92-page measurement report is automatically generated during
a lab exercise that lasts for only two hours, an example being available at [57]. As an
example, in Fig. 1 waweforms of voltages and currents at the 6-pulse three-phase rectifier
inputs are presented, and their spectra are given in Fig. 2. Effects caused by commutation
of the diodes, like the notches in the input voltages and limited slope in the input currents
are observable. In the spectra, absence of harmonic components at triples of the line
frequency is observable, that matches analytical results. To improve the input current
spectra and to reduce the harmonic pollution, 12-pulse rectifiers are applied, and
waveforms that correspond to this rectifier are presented in Fig. 3, while corresponding
spectra are given in Fig. 4. Reduced distortion is readily available. Collected samples are
used to determine input power, output power, efficiency, power factor, displacement
power factor and total harmonic distortions (THD) of the input currents and voltages.
Signal processing is simplified by the fact that the system frequency is the line frequency,
known in advance, and taking an appropriate number of samples spectral leakage is
avoided. In systems with variable frequency this issue should be considered, and it will be
discussed in this paper in the section that covers frequency response measurement.

Fig. 1 Waveforms of the input currents and voltages, 6-pulse rectifier

8 P. PEJOVIĆ

Fig. 2 Spectra of the input currents and voltages, 6-pulse rectifier

Fig. 3 Waveforms of the input currents and voltages, 12-pulse rectifier

 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 9

Fig. 4 Spectra of the input currents and voltages, 12-pulse rectifier

A direct application of the same technology, with minor extension to provide timed
measurement and timestamping, is presented in [35], where long lasting measurements,
over a week, of the line voltage and its total harmonic distortion (THD) were provided. A
diagram presenting measured THD values is presented in Fig. 5, indicating periodic
behavior during working days, while having a specific pattern during weekends. To
provide the diagram of Fig. 5 measurements were made every minute over a week, and
10080 data points are collected and presented.
To illustrate daily variations of the THD, the waveform of Fig. 5 in the part that
corresponds to workdays is plotted in Fig. 6 such that the curves are plotted for each day one
atop another. Close to periodic behavior could be observed, illustrating effects of human
daily activities on the voltage THD. On the other hand, the THD exposes a different pattern
during weekends. To illustrate that, the same methodology as for the workdays, presented in
Fig. 6 is applied, and the results is presented in Fig. 7. Significant reduction of the bump
from 08 to 16 hours could be readily observed, corresponding to the reduction of business
activity during weekends. For the rest of the day, the THD profile remained about the same.
10 P. PEJOVIĆ

Furthermore, the software based virtual instrument is able to record root-mean-square

(RMS) value of the phase voltage at every point. Measurements are made over a week every
minute, and the resulting phase voltage histogram is presented in Fig. 8. In this manner,
registration of the phase voltage is obtained applying general purpose instruments and some
controlling software that provides measurement automation and timestamping.

Fig. 5 THD of the phase voltage

Fig. 6 THD of the phase voltage, workdays

 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 11

Fig. 7 THD of the phase voltage, weekend

Fig. 8 Hystogram of the phase voltage RMS value

Proposed measurement methods were extended to cover both measurement and

control of a solar power generator, aiming maximum power point tracking of the solar
panel [36]. Rapid prototyping is achieved using general purpose instruments and a
personal computer to close the loop, which was possible due to the low frequency
dynamics in the loop. As a part of the same project, a solar power harvester is designed as
12 P. PEJOVIĆ

presented in [37], where the solar panel is kept at the maximum power point by an
adjustable resistive load, and harvested power is measured in order to estimate average,
minimum and maximum power that could be harvested in the specified location as it
depends on weather conditions.

6.2. DC Voltage Calibrator

A different application of the proposed methods is presented in [38] where design of a
special instrument is approached using the software tools. A DC voltage calibrator was
needed, being an expensive instrument, narrow in application, not worth purchasing for
the particular application. A substitution is created closing a loop that included two
general purpose instruments, a programmable signal generator [48] and a highly precise
multimeter [53]. The system is presented in Fig. 9. The voltage assigned to the signal
generator is adjusted in order to generate required voltage, and improvement in accuracy
of two orders of magnitude is achieved, placing the generated voltage error within about
500 V limit, as depicted in Fig. 10. The data of Fig. 11 contain 20001 data points,
obtained using an automated system which loops the required calibrator output voltage
over all possible values in the available range. Just assuming 30 seconds of manual work
per data point, which is fairly optimistic, the measurement process would last for more
than 165 man hours.
Since the instrument was intended for use by less qualified personnel, a graphical user
interface (GUI) is built using tkinter [6] module. The choice is made considering the
application as low demanding, not requiring rapid application development tools, and
having in mind that tkinter module is a part of the Python Standard Library [2]. A
screenshot of the resulting GUI is shown in Fig. 11, and it presents assigned voltage,
measured voltage, and the voltage assigned to the generator, which is an intermediate step
governed by the feedback loop. In the example of Fig. 11 an offset of 23 mV had to be
added to compensate for the signal generator error and to locate the calibrator error within
500 V limit.

Fig. 9 The calibrator system

 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 13

Fig. 10 Voltage error, closed loop calibrator

Fig. 11 Graphical user interface of the calibrator

6.3. Applications in Education

Developed techniques proved to be successful in education, since free access to all of
the source codes is available, the code could be analyzed in classes and shared to
students, and the time spent in the laboratory, limited due to the huge lab burden, could be
effectively utilized, illustrating key concepts instead of spending time on trivial repetitive
tasks. The first application of the proposed methods in education is made in Power
Electronics 2 [34], where lab exercises were introduced to illustrate the theory presented
in the course, as shown here by Figs. 1–4. After this successful implementation, course of
Electrical Measurements [50] is reformed, as reported in [39]. After a year, the course is
further updated, since new oscilloscopes were obtained, providing much faster data
acquisition, enabling introduction of even more experiments since the intellectually and
educationally idle processing time had been reduced further. A set of nine new laboratory
exercises is created [54]. According to student questionnaires, they enjoyed the concept
which reduced hard work and increased the number of experiments, focusing to the
essence instead to the trivia.
14 P. PEJOVIĆ

6.4. Measurement of Frequency Response

Another application example of the proposed techniques, used both in education [39,
50] and in practice is an automated system for frequency response measurement [40]. The
system is intended to measure frequency response of transmittance and immittance, and a
numerically intensive technique is used to measure amplitude and phase, extracting the
first harmonic. Such approach is applied to remove influence of noise in the amplitude
and phase measurements, which is going to be illustrated as significantly present in
measurements encountered in practice. In this manner, precise measurements are
obtained, since all of the collected samples affect the result, filtering the noise out.
The algorithm starts with selecting the time scale such that the the minimal number of
signal periods is covered by the oscilloscope time frame. The frequency is assigned to the
signal generator, being an independent variable, thus the signal period is known. Time
span of the oscilloscope screen belongs to a discrete set of values achievable by the given
oscilloscope, and the span that includes the lowest number of whole signal periods is
selected, determining the oscilloscope time scale. For the oscilloscope applied [49] the
number of periods covered by a screen is either one or two, depending on the signal
frequency, as depicted in Fig. 12.

Fig. 12 Number of periods covered by the oscilloscope screen

After the time scale has been selected, the number of samples taken into account is
computed by rounding 2500  n per  T0 Tspan , where 2500 is the number of samples per
time frame for the given oscilloscope, nper is the number of signal periods per time frame,
shown in Fig. 12, T0 is the signal period, and Tspan is the time span covered by the time
frame. The number of samples is solely dependent on the signal frequency, and the
diagram is shown in Fig. 13. In [40], an older version of the algorithm is presented,
reducing the scope to only one signal period, but in cases when more than one signal
period is covered by the oscilloscope screen, due to the limitations imposed by the
discrete set of available time scale values, better results are obtained by taking two
periods into account, and the improved algorithm is presented in this paper.
 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 15

Fig. 13 The number of considered samples

The algorithm assumes that the number of considered samples ns is known, and that
samples of signals x(t) and y(t) are available as xk and yk for k  {0, ... ns  1}. Waiting
functions are computed next, according to

 k 
ck  2 cos 2  n per 
 (1)
 n S 

and
 k 
sk  2 sin 2  n per  (2)
 nS 

According to the Fourier analysis, for signal xt  cosine component is obtained as
nS 1

x
1
XC  k ck (3)
nS k 0
while the sine component is
nS 1

x
1
XS  k sk . (4)
nS k 0

After the cosine and sine components are determined applying the Fourier analysis,
effectively filtering the noise out, the signal amplitude is obtained as

X m  X C2  X S2 (5)
and the phase is obtained as
x  atan 2( X S , X C ) (6)
16 P. PEJOVIĆ

using the atan 2 function that takes two arguments and provides the result in the range
( ,  ] .
The same signal processing is performed over signal y(t), resulting in values of YC, YS,
Ym, and  y . Finally, the transfer function magnitude is obtained as
Ym
H ( j0 )  (7)
Xm
and the phase is obtained as
H 0   y  x (8)

The value  H 0 is named ―raw phase‖ since it takes value in the range 2    H 0  2 
since    x ,  y   . The value is correct, due to the phase periodicity over 2 , but it
is convenient to provide the phase value in the range    H   . In this aim, phase
adjustment by appropriate shifting for 2 is performed according to

 H 0    H 0  

 H   H 0  2     H 0 (9)
  2     .
 H0 H0

This concludes the algorithm for the one point, for the specified frequency value. The
algorithm is repeated for specified frequency range and the specified number of data
points.
As the first example, consider a circuit of Fig. 14, used to illustrate frequency
response effects caused by the capacitor, to identify frequency range where it behaves
approximately as an open circuit and the range where it behaves approximately as a short
circuit. The program is run, and the frequency response is obtained as presented in the
diagram of Fig. 15, clearly indicating areas of flat frequency response where the capacitor
could be considered either as open circuit, bellow 1 kHz in the considered case, or as
short circuit, which occurs above 100 kHz in the considered case.

Fig. 14 The circuit, R1  R2  1k , C1  10 nF

 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 17

Fig. 15 Frequency response of the circuit

The same system could be used for immittance measurements, for impedance and
admittance, using the circuit of Fig. 16. In the circuit of Fig. 16 R is used as a reference
resistor, and the current through the measured impedance is computed as
v1  v2
i (10)
R
The same data processing algorithm as for the transfer functions is applied, taking signals
v2(t) and i(t) as y(t) and x(t) if impedance computation is the goal.
Application of the method to analyze electronic components provides insight in their
operation and suggest suitable modeling strategies. As an example, in Fig. 17 frequency
response of a capacitor C = 1 nF impedance is presented. The result matches expectations,
and barely noticeable deviations of measured phase from 90o at the beginning and at the
end of the diagram are caused by a huge difference of the capacitor impedance at
considered frequency and the impedance reference of R = 20 k. This is expected, since
measured impedance varies for four decades, i.e. 104 times over the considered frequency
range, and a constant reference impedance is used. To improve the result, suggested
approach that uses Arduino to reconfigure the circuit by adapting the reference impedance
value to the measured impedance should be applied.

Fig. 16 Circuit structure for impedance measurement; R is the impedance reference value
18 P. PEJOVIĆ

Fig. 17 Frequency response of a capacitor impedance, C  1nF

In contrast to the capacitor impedance frequency response, which follows the ideal
model, impedance of an inductor is presented in Fig. 18. The inductor has rated
inductance of 10 mH, but it exposes inductive behavior only in the frequency range from
about 1 kHz to about 200 kHz. At low frequencies, parasitic resistance of the winding
dominates the impedance, while at high frequencies parasitic capacitance of the winding
dominates the response, resulting in capacitor-like frequency response above the resonant
frequency of about 400 kHz. The results are obtained using a reference resistor of 500 .

Fig. 18 Frequency response of an inductor impedance, L  10 mH

 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 19

As a final example that covers impedance measurements, consider frequency response

of an electrolytic capacitor impedance, presented in Fig. 19. To measure impedance of the
electrolytic capacitor, a DC offset of 2 V has been applied, and the measurements are
made with 0.5 V amplitude of the signal generator AC component. The capacitor shows
dominantly capacitive behavior only at frequencies lower than 300 Hz, and in the
frequency range from 300 Hz to about 300 kHz equivalent series resistance slightly above
1  dominates the impedance. Above 300 kHz, equivalent series inductance starts to
dominate the impedance behavior.
To illustrate waveforms captured during the measurement process and noise filtering,
the waveforms recorded while measuring the electrolytic capacitor impedance at the
frequency of 289.087 Hz are presented in Fig. 20. Red trace corresponds to the capacitor
current, while the yellow trace is the capacitor voltage. The cyan trace is the input voltage
AC component. Significant presence of noise in the capacitor voltage waveform could be
readily observed. Similar situation occurs in the frequency range from 300 Hz to 300 kHz,
when the capacitor voltage is low. Regardless the noise, consistent measurements of
amplitude and phase are presented in Fig. 19, indicating that the noise is successfully
removed by the signal processing, not affecting the measurement result.

Fig. 19 Frequency response of an electrolytic capacitor impedance, C  470μF

20 P. PEJOVIĆ

Fig. 20 Waweforms recorded during the electrolytic capacitor impedance measurement:

yellow — capacitor voltage; red — signal proportional to the capacitor current;
cyan — voltage of the signal generator

In educational application of [39, 50], measurements of a transmission line transfer

function is an experiment that attracts lots of student attention, and has an educational
value of connecting courses that cover circuit theory to engineering practice. Due to the
nature of the problem, linear frequency scale is appropriate, and the transfer function of
an open transmission line is presented in Fig. 21. Resonances and nonlinear phase
response could be readily observed. Repeating the experiment with properly terminated
transmission line, results of Fig. 22 are obtained, indicating flat amplitude response and
linear phase response, corresponding to close-an-ideal transmission system.

Fig. 21 Frequency response of an open transmission line

 Application of Python Programming Language in Measurements 21

Fig. 22 Fequency response of properly terminated transmission line

7. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, application of Python programming language in creating automated
measurement systems and virtual instruments is discussed. It is shown that to create such
systems a set of specific tasks should be performed, not frequent in common application
programming. The tasks are listed, and the Python modules that support performing them
are looked for. It is shown that for all of the specific tasks there are Python modules
readily available, either from the Python Standard Library, either from external sources,
some of them highly specialized to support communication with instruments. Effective
methods of including modules and arranging them in separate namespaces turned out to
be useful in considered application. It is also shown that other programs, like LaTeX for
text processing might be useful in creating automated measurement tools, to provide
automatic report generation, which might be of use in certifying laboratories. The use of
Arduino platform is proposed to provide measurement system controlled automatic
reconfiguration and indication of the system state and performance. Tools for controlling
Arduino platforms directly from Python are identified.
Application of the proposed methods is illustrated in four different areas, as reported
by the author in seven papers. Applications started in power electronics, and positive
experiences spread to metrology, to the design of a DC voltage calibrator, to education,
where the methods were used in modernizing two courses, and in measurements of system
frequency response, as applied in electronics, acoustics, and control system design. In
some of these applications, selection of the time scale and the number of considered
samples in the case of variable signal frequency is controlled by an updated algorithm
presented in this paper.
Overall conclusion is that Python is an adequate tool for creating automated
measurement systems and virtual instruments, due to its modular structure and openness
for contribution of modules. In the choice of programming tools, the attention has been
22 P. PEJOVIĆ

made to favorize general purpose tools and techniques, to minimize specific knowledge
requirements. Having in mind evolution of software and the people who work in
metrology, it is likely to expect wide application of the proposed approach and methods,
which already started in several places independently.

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