The sensors in HYPERSIM are used to make acquisitions in ScopeView and to connect the simulation to the I/O Interfaces through their data points.

Sensor Summary

The sensor summary centralizes all selected sensors. They can be edited directly in the table. It is accessible through the HYPERSIM Ribbon.

Adapting the view and filters

The top part of the view helps you filter sensors based on their category, types, whether they are connected to I/O interfaces.

The list of columns can be filtered with the View dropdown. Some columns will be hidden so that you can focus on specific aspects of sensor configuration. You can further customize your view by clicking the "+" icon on the top right of the table, to show or hide individual columns.

Finally, columns can be sorted by clicking on their headers.

Users can double-click a row to locate the row's device on the schematics.

Editing the sensors

Assigning the I/O Interface

The I/O Selector view can be opened by clicking the edit button in the I/O connection column.

The view shows a list of suitable I/O connection points to the sensor. The list can be changed to a tree shape by clicking the tree toggle button top right.

The filter bar allows for searching data points by choosing the exchanger, the direction (IN or OUT), and keywords in the data point paths. You can create a tag by pressing ENTER in the text field.

A datapoint is selected by double-clicking in the table, or by using the context menu.

To remove a sensor connected to a data point, simply delete the text field content in the table.

Tips:

• Dropdown and tags carry over from sensor to sensor. You can quickly assign a group of data points to a group of sensors by choosing adapted tags. The text field content in the I/O Selector is temporary
• You can quickly assign a group of very similar data points (for example Opal-RT Boards Channels) by assigning manually the first one via the I/O Selector and copy paste edit the last character of the I/O connection column text field

Component Sensor Form

The component sensor form is accessible by right-clicking the device on the circuit and in the Component Parameter Form. It works like the sensor summary. Some columns and filters are hidden.

Default sensor configuration

Default sensor file

Each HYPERSIM model has a default sensor file, which is configurable in the Simulation Settings. By default, this file is next to the .ecf file. See Project Folder Content Description for more information.

If the default file exists and the automatic load option has been checked, the file will be loaded.

If the file does not exist, it will be colored in the form. Additionally, you can change the file format to any supported sensor file format defined below.

If some sensors are still unsaved when we close the model, you may choose the save file location (if need be) and change the default sensor file preference, to have this configuration reloaded next time.

Migrating from/to 2022.1 and older

Before 2022.1, a sessionSensor.dat (or even earlier sensors.dat) was present inside the hyp folder. This configuration was loaded by default and saved when the model was closed. This hidden configuration file could lead to confusing behaviors when reopening models which had used multiple sensor configurations.

When opening an older model using 2022.1 or more recent, a conversion will happen: "A sensor configuration has been converted". This means that such a .dat file has been found and deleted to clean the project. However, the data is still saved in a .csv file. You can then choose to load it directly or start from scratch. Therefore, your next save will use the newer default sensor file, which you will be able to compare with the converted file.

To go back to an older version, you will need to load manually the configuration in the older version. After using the model again in the old version, the .dat file will be created again and will therefore trigger a new migration when going back to a recent version.

Saving the sensor configuration

Sensor configuration can be saved and reloaded so that we can quickly switch or append sensor configurations on a circuit.

Please note that the last sensor file chosen while saving or exporting will be considered the next default for the session when using the Save option in the ribbon. The current sensor file configuration is noted in the state bar on the console of the ECF.

.sig format

The ".sig" format is a binary format that contains sensor information. It is complemented by a ".iop" file which contains the Data Logger and the I/O Interface configurations. Use the HYPERSIM ribbon to save the sig file. The matching iop file will also be generated.

.csv format

Since HYPERSIM 2021.1, the sensors can be exported to CSV format. The sensor configuration is then editable through CSV editors, such as Microsoft Excel.

The only mandatory columns are the Device and Name columns. If for example, you do not need the Data Logger in your circuit, you may delete the 3 columns related to the Data Logger (i.e. Record, Group, Trigger).

When saving the CSV file, please make sure that the correct delimiter is chosen, and that the computer's localization preferences do not change the boolean strings "true" and "false" in your CSV editor. 

When merging multiple circuits together, it is possible to regroup in the same CSV file with the different sensor configurations. Only the name of the device will need to be adapted if need be.

Loading the sensor configuration

The sensor configuration can be loaded from the HYPERSIM ribbon or from the Python API.