Automated calibration/characterization scripts with reference flow meter

[martukas]

What has to be done We need to be able to run calibrationo/characterization experiments or tests automatically with an external flow meter. In the current "pizza farm" setup at @martukas basement, we have a Posifa sensor that can be used to do experiments with:

• blower
• pinch valve
• PSOL

It should be possible to run a script that will:

• deploy controller code to actuate the system at particular parameters
• record flow rate at that state with Posifa sensor
• repeat this for different parameters

Additional considerations:

• Script should be flexible enough to allow testing of various components as listed above.
• Data should be recorded in a standard way that will allow for analysis and comparison.
• Metadata should be included for reproducibility and traceability
• There should be a view towards how this script will run as part of some CI job with automatic confirmation of results.

How do you know it has to be done We are still testing and characterizing new components and we need a reproducible way to do this. Proper hardware-in-the-loop integration tests are still missing from our testing suite. This is a first step towards this. We have run similar tests in a somewhat ad-hoc manner up to this point, so we need a more systematic approach.

Code pointers There is some code here software/controller/integration_tests/labjack/posifa.py. Along with software/controller/integration_tests/deploy_test.sh, it should be possible to do this.

Don't forget

• [x] Put the issue in a milestone
• [x] Assign it to one of the projects
• [x] Add appropriate labels
• [x] Mention dependent/blocked issues if any

[martukas]

This is a subset or evolution of #390