Overview of the Sidekick System

The "Sidekick System" is a tabletop mockup of a laboratory control system. It can be used by researchers exploring the challenges of closed-loop control systems for real-world high-intensity lasers.

To meet the needs of our wide range of stakeholders, we are testing the viability of a distributed control system architecture used in many physics facilities throughout the world: EPICS. Our approach to learning EPICS at California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) is to start small, fail fast, and build up. Our goal is to get a head start on addressing challenges of distributed feedback control loops, synchronous data collection, and pre-programmable shot sequences.

This sidekick system was created by Dr. Scott Feister and undergraduates Keily Valdez Sereno and Emiko Ito at California State University Channel Islands.