Other IceCube Projects
IceCube Data Acquisition System
NPX Designs founder John Jacobsen was a key participant of a small development team which overhauled an $8M Java-based data acquisition software system used at the South Pole, for the acquisition of data from the world’s largest neutrino detector, IceCube. Redesign consisted of a complete reimplementation of the control system in Python and streamlining the existing Java components, reducing the size of the codebase by 60%, increasing uptime, and increasing the number of channels supported by a factor of ten. NPX Designs also assisted with the actual detector construction on-site at the South Pole for five summer seasons. We wrote comprehensive operator documentation for the detector and have helped to train the winter-over scientists for the last several seasons.
Linux Device Driver for 64-Channel Custom Network Appliance
Created Linux kernel device driver for DOR (DOm Readout) cards, custom-built communications interface to embedded Digital Optical Module (DOM) sensors deployed at a depth of 2.4 km in the ice at the South Pole. Driver supports kernel versions 2.4 and 2.6, runs on dual or single core processors, and supports up to eight DOR cards reading out 64 DOMs simultaneously.
Embedded Application for IceCube Detector Elements
Adapted prototype code for DOM sensors into full-featured embedded application to handle configuration, control, and data retrieval tasks. Created supporting regression test suite and complete documentation package.