https://github.com/uutzinger/serialui
Serial Graphical User Interface
https://github.com/uutzinger/serialui
arduino-ide gui plotting pyqtgraph python qt5 serial serial-communication
Last synced: 3 months ago
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Serial Graphical User Interface
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/uutzinger/serialui
- Owner: uutzinger
- License: mit
- Created: 2023-12-14T18:26:47.000Z (about 2 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-04-24T18:59:25.000Z (9 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-04-24T19:24:07.451Z (9 months ago)
- Topics: arduino-ide, gui, plotting, pyqtgraph, python, qt5, serial, serial-communication
- Language: Python
- Homepage:
- Size: 25.7 MB
- Stars: 2
- Watchers: 2
- Forks: 1
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# Graphical User Interface for Serial Communication
**SerialUI** provides a graphical interface to send and receive text from the serial port, including a serial plotter for displaying numerical data. It offers features beyond the Arduino IDE Serial Plotter.
**BLESerialUI** is equivalent to SerialUI but uses the Nordic Serial UART on a BLE connection (Experimental, Unfinished Code)
The programs are written in python using pyQt.
## Description
## How to Use This Program
- [Usage instructions](docs/Instructions.md).
- [Supplemental instructions](docs/Supplementalinstructions.md).
- [Helpful reading for QT and qtgraph](docs/Helpful_readings.md).
## Installation Requirements
*One liner Windows:*
- `pip3 install pyqt5 pyqtgraph numpy pyserial markdown wmi bleak qasync`
*One liner Linux:*
- `pip3 install pyqt5 pyqtgraph numpy pyserial markdown pyudev bleak qasync`
- `pyqt5` or `pyqt6` user interface
- `pyqtgraph` display
- `numpy` data gathering and manipulation
- `pyserial` serial interface
- `markdown` help file
- `wmi` on Windows for USB device notifications
- `pyudev` on Linux for USB device notifications
- `qasync` and `bleak` for bluetooth communication
In future version we will also need:
- `scipy` image decompression
- `numba` acceleration of numpy code
- `cobs` serial data encoding (byte stuffing)
- `zlib` and `tamp` for compression
Installation of PyQt5/6 has its own dependencies. If it fails, read the suggested solution in the error messages.
For example pyOpenGL might be required.
The main programs are `SerialUI.py` and `BLESerialUI.py`. The use files in the `assets` and `helper` folders.
## Data Parsing
- [Data Parsing](docs/Dataparsing.md)
## Indicating Data
- [Feature not implemented yet](docs/Indicating.md).
## Arduino Test Programs
In the `Arduino_programs` folder are example programs that simulate data for display.
## Efficiency
Comparing SerialUI to other serial IO programs:
**Text Display**
Teensy 4.0 using the Test Program from [Paul Stoffregen](https://github.com/PaulStoffregen/USB-Serial-Print-Speed-Test/blob/master/usb_serial_print_speed.ino) with default settings produces about 530k lines/second and 19Mbytes/second on the USB port:
- [SerialUI](https://github.com/uutzinger/SerialUI): ~500k lines/sec at ~17 MBytes/sec
- [Arduino IDE (2.3.5)](https://www.pjrc.com/improving-arduino-serial-monitor-performance/): 530k lines/sec
- [Putty](https://www.putty.org/): 483k lines/sec
- `cat /dev/ttyACM0 | pv -r > /dev/null` 14-18 MB/s
- `screen /dev/ttyACM0 4000000` 160k lines/sec
Arduino IDE is slightly faster in raw text display.
Limit in SerialUI is the Qt plain text display widget. It can display about 70k lines/sec.
SerialUI displays the most recent text in the display window. It saves all data to file at the reported throughput.
ESP32-S3 Adafruit Feather:
- [Arduino IDE](https://www.pjrc.com/improving-arduino-serial-monitor-performance/): 17k lines/sec
- [Serial UI](https://github.com/uutzinger/SerialUI): 17k lines/sec and 560 kBytes/sec
There is no difference between SerialUI and ArduinoIDE.
**Charting**
With simple simulated data from Teensy 4.0 we can retrieve and plot 2 channels with about 80k samples/second/channel.
Arduino IDE plotter does not provide performance metrics.
## Author
Urs Utzinger, 2022-2025 (University of Arizona)
## Contributors
Cameron K Brooks, 2024 (Western University)