Glance

<div align="center"> <img src="docs/public/Glance.png" alt="Glance Logo" width="400"/> <h3>Professional Real-Time Telemetry Visualization Platform</h3> <p> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/License-GPLv3%20with%20restrictions-blue.svg" alt="License"/> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.8%2B-blue" alt="Python Version"/> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/GUI-PySide6-green" alt="PySide6"/> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/platform-Windows%20%7C%20Linux%20%7C%20macOS-lightgrey" alt="Platform"/> </p> <p><em>Data visualization dashboard for monitoring real-time sensor data, telemetry streams, and system metrics</em></p> <p> <a href="#features">Features</a> • <a href="#installation">Installation</a> • <a href="#quick-start">Quick Start</a> • <a href="https://glance.teamignition.space/">Documentation</a> • <a href="#contributing">Contributing</a> </p> <hr/> <img src="docs/public/ign_logo_wht.png" alt="Team Ignition Logo" width="150"/> <p><strong>Developed by Team Ignition Software Department</strong><br/> <em>Official Model Rocketry Team of Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai</em></p> </div>

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About

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Glance is a real-time telemetry visualization platform designed for rockets, drones, embedded systems, and advanced data-acquisition applications. Built with PySide6 (Qt6), it offers a modular, widget-based dashboard that adapts to diverse telemetry needs.

With multi-source connectivity, advanced signal filtering, powerful data logging, and professional UI/UX, Glance empowers engineers, researchers, and operators to gain actionable insights at a glance.

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Core Capabilities

<ul> <li>Real-time multi-channel visualization</li> <li>Serial, TCP, UDP connectivity</li> <li>Advanced signal filtering (Kalman, Moving Average, Low-pass, Median)</li> <li>7+ customizable widget types</li> <li>CSV & JSON data logging</li> <li>Professional dark theme UI</li> <li>Project save/load system</li> <li>Raw telemetry monitoring</li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table>

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Features

<details open> <summary><h3>📊 Visualization & Display</h3></summary> <table> <tr> <td width="50%">

Interactive Graphs

• Multi-parameter time-series plotting
• Zoom, pan, and crosshair inspection
• Auto-scaling with manual override
• Color-coded parameter traces
• Real-time legend updates

Status Displays

• Large-format instant value displays with alarm states
• Circular gauges with threshold zones
• LED indicators with color-coded status
• Statistical histograms for distribution analysis

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Data Tables & GPS

• Searchable log tables with highlighting
• Timestamped data entries
• Multi-parameter comparison
• GPS mapping with satellite imagery
• Real-time location tracking
• Interactive map controls

Advanced Features

• Crosshair cursor with value readout
• Mouse-click data point selection
• Widget floating and docking
• Multi-tab dashboard support
• Undo/Redo functionality for widget operations
• Standalone raw telemetry viewer

</td> </tr> </table> </details> <details> <summary><h3>🎛️ Signal Processing</h3></summary> <table> <tr> <td width="50%">

Available Filters

<dl> <dt><strong>Kalman Filter</strong></dt> <dd>Optimal estimation for noisy signals with configurable process and measurement variance. Ideal for tracking applications and sensor fusion.</dd> <dt><strong>Moving Average Filter</strong></dt> <dd>Simple smoothing over configurable window size (2-100 samples). Effective for reducing random noise.</dd> <dt><strong>Low-Pass Filter</strong></dt> <dd>Exponential smoothing with adjustable alpha (0.01-1.0). Fast response with controllable lag.</dd> <dt><strong>Median Filter</strong></dt> <dd>Outlier rejection using median of N samples. Excellent for spike removal while preserving edges.</dd> </dl> </td> <td width="50%">

Filter Management

• Per-parameter filter chains
• Enable/disable filters without restart
• Real-time filter parameter adjustment
• Filter state reset capability
• Visual filter status indicators
• Import/export filter configurations

Processing Features

• Apply filters to any parameter
• Chain multiple filters per parameter
• Raw and filtered data logging
• Zero-lag display options
• Configurable buffer management

</td> </tr> </table> </details> <details> <summary><h3>🔌 Connectivity & Data Sources</h3></summary> <table> <tr> <td width="50%">

Serial Communication

• RS232, RS485, USB-Serial support
• Auto-detection of available ports
• Configurable baudrate (300-10M)
• Manual refresh of port list
• Timeout configuration

Network Protocols

• TCP client connections
• UDP listener mode
• Configurable host and port
• Connection status monitoring
• Automatic reconnection

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Data Format Support

• JSON array parsing
• CSV delimited data
• Raw binary bytes
• Binary struct (with type definitions)
• Bit-level data extraction
• Custom format definitions
• Little/big endian support
• Configurable channel count (1-1024)

Simulation Mode

• Built-in dummy data generator
• No hardware required for testing
• Configurable sine wave patterns
• Random noise injection

</td> </tr> </table> </details> <details> <summary><h3>💾 Data Logging & Export</h3></summary> <table> <tr> <td width="50%">

Logging Features

• CSV and JSON format support
• Parameter-selective logging
• Configurable buffer sizes (10-1000)
• Auto-generated timestamped filenames
• Manual buffer flush controls
• Organized logs directory structure

Data Management

• Raw and filtered value storage
• Millisecond-precision timestamps
• Elapsed time tracking
• Incremental file writing
• Low memory footprint

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Export Options

• Standard CSV for Excel/MATLAB
• JSON Lines format for programming
• Human-readable timestamps
• Parameter metadata inclusion
• Configurable write frequency

PDF Report Generation

• Automated summary reports from logged data
• Statistical analysis (min, max, average)
• Session metadata and duration
• Professional formatting with charts
• Generate via Ctrl+Shift+R or Data Logging → Generate Summary Report

Performance

• Buffered I/O for efficiency
• Configurable flush intervals
• Background writing
• No dropped packets during logging
• Minimal CPU overhead

</td> </tr> </table> </details> <details> <summary><h3>🔍 Monitoring & Debugging</h3></summary> <table> <tr> <td width="50%">

Raw Telemetry Monitor

• Decimal, hexadecimal, ASCII, binary, and mixed display modes
• Real-time packet inspection
• Packet statistics (count, rate, bytes)
• Pause and resume capability
• Search and highlight functionality
• Screenshot capture
• Save to file

VS Code-like Status Bar

• Segmented layout for clear information hierarchy
• Live clock display
• Connection status with interactive button
• Packet count and data received metrics
• Active parameters and widget count
• UI update rate (FPS)
• Data logging indicator
• Quick access to Raw Telemetry viewer

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Debug Tools

• Connection diagnostics
• Data format validation
• Parameter mapping verification
• Real-time packet rate monitoring
• Error message display
• Connection retry logic

Advanced Telemetry

• Multiple display format switching
• Packet numbering
• Timestamp display options
• Byte rate calculation
• Error counting
• Custom search filters

</td> </tr> </table> </details> <details> <summary><h3>🎨 User Interface</h3></summary> <table> <tr> <td width="50%">

Modern Design

• Professional "Apple-like" dark theme
• High-contrast elements with SF Pro typography
• Custom styled widgets with glassmorphism effects
• Smooth animations and transitions
• Gradient accents and refined color palettes
• Responsive layout with segmented controls

Dashboard Management

• 4-phase creation wizard
• Professional Welcome Screen with system icons
• Setup wizard with validation
• Widget pre-configuration
• Live dashboard phase

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Layout Control

• Drag-and-drop widget positioning
• Floating and docked modes
• Multi-tab support with rename
• Tile evenly function
• Right-click context menus
• Widget resize and minimize
• Customizable dashboard titles

Workflow

• Project save/load system
• Unsaved changes tracking
• Configuration validation
• Error prevention dialogs
• Comprehensive keyboard shortcut support
• Command pattern for undo/redo operations

</td> </tr> </table> </details> <details> <summary><h3>⚙️ Technical Architecture</h3></summary> <table> <tr> <td width="50%">

Backend Core

• Threaded Acquisition: DataSimulator runs in a dedicated QThread, ensuring the UI remains responsive even at high data rates (100Hz+).
• Abstraction Layer: DataReader provides a unified interface for Serial, TCP, UDP, and Dummy sources, handling low-level socket/port management and error recovery with automatic reconnection.
• Binary Parsing: Uses Python's struct module for high-performance parsing of binary packets. Supports mixed data types (int8/16/32, uint8/16/32, float32/64) and binary struct definitions via parameter configuration.

Data Flow

1. Source: Hardware/Network sends data packet.
2. Acquisition: DataReader reads bytes/string.
3. Parsing: Data is converted to a normalized list[float].
4. Distribution: DataSimulator emits newData Qt Signal.
5. Processing: Main thread applies active filters (Kalman/MA).
6. Visualization: Widgets update via optimized paint events.

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Data Logging Internals

• Buffered I/O: DataLogger accumulates data in memory (default 100 samples) before performing a bulk write to disk. This minimizes filesystem overhead and prevents write-latency from affecting the acquisition loop.
• Formats:
  • CSV: Optimized for import into Excel/MATLAB with timestamp and elapsed time col