SciCopeInstruments
Supported instruments and platforms
One engine drives all of it from your own computer — over USB, serial or the lab network — with no vendor software open on the side.
- Stages
- Newport XPS controllers, several stages per controller, group-coordinated moves · GRBL boards (Arduino: X, Y and an up/down Z) · Marlin boards (X, Z and a rotating plate)
- Cameras
- Andor SDK2 EMCCD with every Solis setting · Thorlabs uc480 · USB cameras · the computer’s own camera · Android and iPhone through the SciCope app
- Microscopes
- ZEISS Axio Imager M2m with Axiocam 305 · ZEISS Smartzoom 5 — through the ZEISS software on the Windows PC they are connected to
- Focus
- Optotune focus lens · any stage axis or ZEISS focus drive, each with its own autofocus
- Light
- NI-DAQmx digital lines as switches, with timed pulses from programs
- Analysis
- Python built in — NumPy, SciPy, scikit-image, OpenCV, pandas — with the lab’s own analysis library · Fiji optional
- AI
- Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or DeepSeek with your API key · Claude Code or Codex with your subscription
- Platforms
- macOS 11 or newer on Apple Silicon and Intel · 64-bit Windows · phone camera apps for Android 8 and iOS 17
What has been tested on real hardware: the Newport XPS support has been checked on a real XPS controller in the lab. ZEISS microscopes and Andor cameras have so far been tested against simulated instruments. Thorlabs and Andor cameras and the NI relay need their vendor drivers on Windows.
Setting up
Plug in, then open Devices
The Devices dialog lists the ports and cameras the computer can see: pick the camera, the stage board and its port, the relay and the lens. Without any hardware, Open demo microscope shows every feature on a simulated plate.