NIRscanNano

Python driver, Flask web dashboard, and CLI scan tool for the TI NIRscan Nano near-infrared spectrometer (900–1700 nm).

Runs on Raspberry Pi 5 (ARM64). Simulation mode available for development without hardware.

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Hardware

• Device: TI DLP NIRscan Nano EVM
• Interface: USB HID — VID 0451 / PID 4200
• Host: Raspberry Pi 5 (or any Linux x86-64 / ARM machine)

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Installation

1. System dependencies

sudo apt install libudev-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev python3-dev

2. Python dependencies

pip install flask numpy

3. USB access without sudo

sudo cp 99-nirscanner.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Without this step, running as a non-root user gives USB open failed.

4. Select the right compiled library

The native _NIRScanner.so must match your platform:

Platform	Command
RPi 5 / ARM64 (Python 3)	cp lib/_NIRScanner.so.3 _NIRScanner.so
RPi (32-bit, Python 2)	cp lib/_NIRScanner.so.2.pi _NIRScanner.so
Linux x86-64 (Python 2)	cp lib/_NIRScanner.so.2 _NIRScanner.so

The repo ships with the ARM64 version already in place as _NIRScanner.so.

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Web Dashboard

cd app
python3 main.py

Open http://<pi-ip>:5000 in any browser.

Features:

• Connect / disconnect device
• Live spectrum scan with Chart.js plot
• Configure scan parameters (type, patterns, repeats, wavelength range, width)
• Lamp on/off control
• Hibernate / secure standby
• Auto-fallback to simulation mode when device is not connected

Web API

All endpoints return JSON.

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/status	Device status, temp, humidity, version
POST	/api/connect	Connect to device (or simulator)
POST	/api/scan	Run scan, returns wavelength + intensity + reflectance
POST	/api/config	Update scan parameters
POST	/api/lamp	{"state": true|false} — lamp on/off
POST	/api/hibernate	{"state": true|false} — hibernation mode
POST	/api/secure_standby	Put device in standby
GET	/api/latest_scan	Return most recent scan data

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CLI Scan Tool

# Real device (waits for USB connection)
python3 scan_tool.py

# Simulation mode — no hardware needed
python3 scan_tool.py --simulate

# Exit immediately if device not found
python3 scan_tool.py --no-wait

Prints ASCII spectrum chart, saves results to nir_scan_<timestamp>.csv.

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Post-Processing App

cd processing_app
python3 main.py

Upload saved CSV files for NIR band analysis and visualization. Runs on http://localhost:5001.

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Testing Without Hardware (Simulation Mode)

Both the web app and scan tool fall back to SimulatedNIRS when no device is detected. Simulated scans return realistic 228-point spectra (900–1700 nm) with randomized noise.

To verify the web app works in simulation:

cd app && python3 main.py &
curl http://localhost:5000/api/status
# → {"connected": true, "simulated": true, ...}

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/scan -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{}'
# → {"success": true, "results": {"wavelength": [...], "intensity": [...], ...}}

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Compile from Source

Only needed if the pre-built .so files do not match your platform.

# Python 3
./src/scripts/compile_py3.sh

# Python 2
./src/scripts/compile_py2.sh

Requires: swig, cmake, gcc, libudev-dev, libusb-1.0-0-dev

sudo apt install swig cmake gcc

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Project Structure

_NIRScanner.so         active compiled library (symlink/copy)
NIRS.py                Python wrapper class
scan_tool.py           CLI scan utility
update_config.py       scan config updater
test.py                basic device connection test
test.ipynb             Jupyter usage examples
app/                   Flask live dashboard
processing_app/        Flask post-processing app
lib/                   compiled .so variants (x86, ARM32, ARM64)
src/                   C++ source + SWIG bindings
99-nirscanner.rules    udev USB rule

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Credits

Native library and SWIG bindings by Weiwei Jiang.