How do I monitor incoming data from an ongoing experiment in the Pulsenics dashboard?

Goal

Monitor real-time data from an active experiment by creating plots on the Experiment page and validating EIS quality as measurements arrive.

When to use this

Your experiment is already running and you want to confirm signals look correct (voltage, current, injection response).
You want to watch impedance behavior live (Bode and Nyquist).
You want to track metrics over time (ohmic resistance, charge-transfer resistance, etc.).
You want to confirm data quality in real time using a KK test overlay.

Before you start

An experiment is running and you can open its Experiment page.
If you are using a CMU, confirm the CMU and channel are connected to the device under test.

1) Open the Plot section

On the Experiment page for the running experiment, scroll to the bottom to find the Plot section.

What you should see: an area where plots can be added and displayed.

2) Open the Add plots window

Click the plus (+) button in the Plot section to open Add plots.

What you should see: the Add plots window with equipment and plot options.

3) Confirm you are plotting from the correct equipment

In the Add plots window, confirm the selected Probe is the one connected to your device under test.

What you should see: the correct Probe identifier selected before you add any plots.

Common blocker

If the wrong Probe is selected, your plots may look “wrong” even if the device is fine.

4) Select CMU and channel (if applicable)

If you are using a CMU, select the CMU and the channel(s) connected to the device under test.
If you are using multiple channels and want comparisons, enable Overlay to put multiple channels on the same plot.

What you should see: selected CMU and channel(s) reflected in the plot configuration.

5) Create time-domain plots (DC voltage and DC current)

DC voltage plot

Choose DC Voltage.
Keep the CMU selected (voltage is read from the CMU).
Click Add plot.

What you should see: a DC voltage plot added to the Plot section.

DC current plot

Choose DC Current.
Deselect the CMU (current is collected from the Probe).
Click Add plot.

What you should see: a DC current plot added to the Plot section.

Sanity check

DC voltage should match what you expect for your device.
DC current should be reasonable for the operating condition (for example, near zero at OCV).

If values look very wrong

Verify connections to the device under test.
Confirm the correct channel and polarity.
Confirm the device is operating in a safe regime.

6) Create frequency-domain plots (Bode and Nyquist)

Impedance Bode plots (magnitude and phase)

Select Bode: impedance magnitude and Bode: phase.
Ensure CMU and channel are selected (impedance data comes from the CMU).
Click Add plot.

How to interpret quickly

Impedance magnitude shows impedance at each frequency across your range.
Phase helps distinguish inductive behavior (often wiring at high frequency) vs capacitive behavior (often electrochemical effects at lower frequency).
The frequency where phase crosses 0 degrees is commonly used to estimate where ohmic resistance is most representative.

Nyquist plot

Select Nyquist.
Ensure CMU and channel are selected.
Click Add plot.

Tip

Use the “expand” or split-window control (if available) to view the plot larger.
Adjust the plot scale as needed to see the semicircle and any inductive tail.

7) Create injection response plots (voltage magnitude and current magnitude)

Voltage magnitude (response)

Select Bode: voltage magnitude.
Ensure CMU and channel are selected.
Click Add plot.

Current magnitude (injection)

Select Bode: current magnitude.
Deselect the CMU (current magnitude is from the Probe).
Click Add plot.

Why these matter

Current magnitude shows what the Probe is injecting at each frequency.
Voltage magnitude shows the response amplitude.
If the voltage magnitude response is too small, measurements may be noise-limited and you may need to adjust settings (often amplitude, frequency range, or setup).

8) Create electrochemical metric plots (track changes over time)

In Add plots, select an electrochemical metric (for example, ohmic resistance).
Ensure CMU and channel are selected.
Click Add plot.

What you should see: a metric trend over time (useful for tracking stability, drift, and degradation-related changes).

9) Validate EIS quality in real time with a KK test

In Add plots, select KK test.
Choose to overlay it on a Nyquist plot (KK fit over measured data).
Click Add plot.

How to judge validity

If the KK fit overlays closely on the Nyquist data, that is a good sign.
Check the root mean squared error (RMSE):
- Below 5% is a common recommended threshold.
- Below 1% is typically excellent.

What KK is checking (high level)

The system is approximately steady-state during the measurement (no strong drift).
The response is approximately linear (signal and response scale proportionally).
The response is causal (driven by the applied EIS signal).

Verify success

You can see new measurements updating in plots as data arrives.
DC voltage and DC current are consistent with the expected operating condition.
Impedance plots are populated across the chosen frequency range.
KK overlay shows a reasonable fit and RMSE is within an acceptable threshold.

Common issues

I cannot create DC current or current magnitude plots: deselect the CMU, those current signals come from the Probe.
Plots look wrong or flat: confirm the correct Probe, CMU, and channel are selected.
Voltage magnitude response is very small: measurement may be noise-limited, consider adjusting settings and verifying connections.
KK RMSE is high (above 5%): the system may be drifting, non-linear, or not in steady-state, or the setup may need verification.

Related workflows

Start your first experiment
Configure EIS controls (frequency range, amplitude, single-sine vs multi-sine)
Troubleshoot unexpected voltage, current, or impedance readings