Example: Parallel Measurements (Async)

One of the most powerful features of Instrumation is the ability to talk to multiple instruments at once using asyncio. This is especially useful for reducing total test time in complex ATE systems.

Goal

Compare the time taken for sequential measurements against parallel measurements using three simulated instruments.

The Script

import asyncio
import time
from instrumation.factory import get_instrument

async def run_parallel_demo():
    print("Connecting to simulated instruments...")
    dmm = get_instrument("DMM_ADDR", "DMM")
    sa = get_instrument("SA_ADDR", "SA")
    psu = get_instrument("PSU_ADDR", "PSU")

    # Increase simulated latency to make the parallel effect more obvious
    dmm.latency = 0.5
    sa.latency = 0.5
    psu.latency = 0.5

    print("\n--- Sequential Measurements ---")
    start = time.perf_counter()
    v = dmm.measure_voltage()
    p = sa.get_peak_value()
    i = psu.get_current()
    end = time.perf_counter()
    print(f"Sequential took: {end - start:.2f} seconds")
    print(f"Results: {v.value:.2f}V, {p.value:.2f}dBm, {i.value:.2f}A")

    print("\n--- Parallel Measurements ---")
    start = time.perf_counter()
    # Use the async_ prefix to automatically run commands in background threads
    results = await asyncio.gather(
        dmm.async_measure_voltage(),
        sa.async_get_peak_value(),
        psu.async_get_current()
    )
    end = time.perf_counter()
    v_async, p_async, i_async = results
    print(f"Parallel took: {end - start:.2f} seconds")
    print(f"Results: {v_async.value:.2f}V, {p_async.value:.2f}dBm, {i_async.value:.2f}A")

    dmm.close()
    sa.close()
    psu.close()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Ensure INSTRUMATION_MODE=SIM to see the timing results correctly
    asyncio.run(run_parallel_demo())

Performance Note

For instruments using Ethernet/TCPIP, this is truly non-blocking. For GPIB/USB, Instrumation uses a background thread pool to ensure your main async loop doesn't stall. In this demo, you'll see the total time drop from ~1.5s (sequential) to ~0.5s (parallel).