ICALEPCS2025 - The 20th International Conference on Accelerator and Large Experimental Physics Control Systems

Program Classifications

MC01: Project Status Report on New Facilities

MC01

Track Moderators: Martin Pieck, Barbara Ojur
This track provides a comprehensive overview of new accelerator and large-scale experimental physics facilities, with a focus on the unique control system challenges encountered throughout the project lifecycle, from conceptual design to commissioning. It also includes projects focused on the complete replacement of control systems within a facility, where there is no need to interface with or maintain legacy control system components. Due to the scale of these projects, they typically involve large, dedicated teams and span multiple years, requiring substantial financial investments. Presentations should address the most complex and demanding control system issues faced by emerging facilities, along with innovative solutions and approaches. Special emphasis is placed on projects with novel, intricate, or highly specialized control system requirements. Topics may include, but are not limited to, control system design and development for particle accelerators, detectors, fusion devices, light and photon sources, neutron sources, telescopes, and gravitational wave detectors. The track aims to showcase the technical advancements and solutions that ensure the successful deployment of these critical control systems, tailored to meet the unique demands of each facility.
Keywords: new facility, large scale project, no legacy control system interface, requirements, design, installation, commissioning, status, remaining challenges, schedule

MC02: Control System Upgrades in Existing Facilities

MC02

Track Moderators: Mike Rowe, Misaki Komiyama, Yuliang Zhang
This track focuses on significant upgrades to existing control systems for sustainability and/or the provision of additional capabilities. It includes projects focused on upgrades where there is a need to interface with or maintain legacy control system components. Hence, upgrades can include extensions or improvements of control system hardware, and infrastructure and challenges associated with hybrid systems. Submissions are encouraged to discuss the challenges associated with the change control process and the transition of upgraded systems to operations.
Keywords: Control System Obsolescence, Control System Upgrade, Control System Expansion, Control System Improvement, Legacy Equipment Maintenance, Legacy Control System, Hybrid Control System, Legacy Device Support

MC03: Control System Sustainment and Management

MC03

Track Moderators: Denise Finstrom, Barry Fishler
This track addresses both technological and human aspects of sustainment and management. It explores leadership strategies for attracting, retaining, and developing control system staff, as well as the processes and tools necessary for managing complex, large-scale control systems throughout their lifecycle. Additionally, it covers how facilities tackle the sustainability challenges of control systems over their multi-decade lifespan. A key focus is on fostering workforce development within teams to enhance innovation and performance.
Keywords: project management, systems engineering, risk management, quality assurance, integration, operational support, configuration management, workforce development, succession planning, sustainment, team organization, staff retention, onboarding, training, remote work

MC04: Hardware Architecture and Synchronization

MC04

Track Moderators: Joe Sullivan, Oscar Matilla
This track focuses on the hardware architecture for distributed control systems, including timing systems. Discussions will center on bridging the gap between system requirements and hardware choices. And how different hardware components interact to meet performance goals for reliability, scalability and synchronization. Also, the use of industry-standard hardware and technologies, including form factors or their combination, will be addressed. In particular, presentations about collaborative efforts among laboratories and companies focused on standardization and/or capability improvements are especially welcomed.
Keywords: µTCA, cPCI, VME, fieldbus, PLC, IoT, Timing Systems, White Rabbit

MC05: FPGA and Embedded Systems

MC05

Track Moderators: Scott Cogan, Mike Costanzo, Eva Gousiou
This track explores custom hardware and embedded software designs as applied to the operation of large physics facilities, with an emphasis on efforts among laboratories and companies using open-source development. This includes shareable cores, FPGA development and deployment tools, verification and simulation techniques.
Relevant applications span real-time data processing, image analysis, timing and synchronization systems and data acquisition systems.
Keywords: FPGA, SoC, IP cores, Test bench, Gateware, Firmware, HLS, Timing, Synchronisation, Real time, Determinism.

MC06: Control System Infrastructure and Cyber Security

MC06

Track Moderators: Thomas Birke, Miroslaw Dach, Yung-Sen Cheng
This track explores the IT infrastructure supporting control systems, including network configurations, processing nodes, server systems, and their underlying architecture. This encompasses the integration of cloud computing solutions and virtualization technologies. Additionally, this track emphasizes the critical importance of cybersecurity and access control, which have become increasingly significant in ensuring the protection and integrity of control systems, particularly within large-scale physics facilities.
Keywords: IT infrastructure, Network, Server systems, Cloud computing, Virtualisation, Cyber security, OT security, Security protocols, Data encryption, Access control

MC07: Functional Safety and Protection Systems

MC07

Track Moderators: Ralph Baer, Ronaldo Mercado
This track focuses on functional safety systems to ensure safe and reliable operations, minimize accidents, improve system reliability, and meet regulatory requirements through technologies such as safety instrumentation, credited control systems, high reliability systems and fault-tolerant design.
This includes aspects to prevent failures, detect faults, and mitigate risks to people, equipment, and the environment. It covers access control and run-permits to ensure all systems are in the nominal safe state for operations, machine protection systems used for the protection of equipment, and personnel safety systems used to protect people from machine induced hazards.
Keywords: PSS, EPS, MPS, PLC, SIL, radiation protection, risk analysis, safety PLCs, interlock, beam permits, operation permits

MC08: Diverse Device Control and Integration

MC08

Track Moderators: Yves-Marie Abiven, Lorenzo Pivetta, Masanori Satoh
Control systems are frequently built from the aggregation of many heterogeneous components including in-house, community sourced and commercial off-the-shelf systems. Component selection is often diverse, such as proprietary hardware platforms and/or controllers, proprietary communication protocols but also complex mechatronics and robotics systems. Integration in terms of mechanics, electronics and software is often challenging. This track aims to present the experiences, issues and lessons learned related to the design, construction and evolution of diverse control system elements and their integration, covering design and implementation.
Keywords: heterogeneous components, proprietary hardware/software, robotics, mechatronics

MC09: Experiment Control and Data Acquisition

MC09

Track Moderators: Steven Hartman, Mark Rivers
This track focuses on domain specific control and data acquisition systems for user facility experiments. Experiment control systems include a heterogeneous collection of devices for sample environments, motion control, experiment automation, detectors and data acquisition electronics. The control systems must provide flexibility to support different experiment configurations while providing an intuitive interface to support a variety of users.

MC10: Software Architecture & Technology Evolution

MC10

Track Moderators: Tim Wilksen, Ralph Lange
This track focuses on new control system frameworks, evolution of existing control system toolkits (e.g., EPICS, TANGO, DOOCS, …), and middleware to build control systems. Of particular interest are experiences and lessons learned from applying new approaches in control system development. This includes reports on performance and scalability of middleware technology, as well as service-oriented architectures (SOA) (e.g., ZeroMQ, ActiveMQ, MQTT, DDS, Kafka, …) and web services.
The track also covers new software technologies, programming languages, and operating systems that advance control system frameworks to cope with modern challenges.
Keywords: control system frameworks, middleware, IoT, container-based deployment, transport protocols

MC11: User Interfaces & User Experience

MC11

Track Moderators: Vicente Rey, Marco Bartolini
This track explores the evolving relationship between humans and experimental physics control systems, focusing on efficient and effective user interfaces. As these systems grow in complexity, intuitive, accessible, and innovative solutions are increasingly critical.
Key topics include leveraging modern web technologies, interactive visualization tools, and enabling remote maintenance and operations for distributed facilities. How do these architectures affect our approach to security? In addition, the track highlights strategies for enhancing accessibility and usability evaluations - both essential for improving user experience and system efficiency. Case studies examining current interfaces and showcasing novel approaches such as the use of augmented or virtual reality will help this track support the broader community in advancing the design and operation of complex systems.
Keywords: GUI, UI/UX, usability, web interfaces, desktop interfaces, user interfaces, user experience, remote control, accessibility, Lean UX, notebooks, augmented reality, virtual reality.

MC12: Software Development and Management Tools

MC12

Track Moderators: Gianluca Chiozzi, Guifré Cuní
Software Management plays a crucial role in ensuring software is delivered efficiently, reliably, and with high quality. Optimizing the lifecycle through effective tools and strategies is vital for meeting the demands of fast-paced development environments.
This track focuses on tools, techniques, and best practices that enhance key phases of the software development lifecycle, including building, testing, and deploying software. Contributions are expected to explore advancements in continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), automation frameworks including documentation generation, version control systems, and tools that enable measuring and improving code quality, testing efficiency, and deployment reliability. Topics may include comparisons of emerging tools, innovative workflows, and case studies highlighting practical solutions for modern software development challenges. For example, managing the lifecycle of multi-language projects and their bindings, integration of different build systems, and testing strategies.
Keywords: Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Automation Frameworks, Code Analysis & Quality, Testing Efficiency, Deployment Reliability, CI/CD Pipelines, DevOps Practices, Workflow Optimization, Build Automation, Testing Tools, Development Environments, Scalability, Software Release Management, Best Practices, Integration Testing, Documentation Generation

MC13: Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

MC13

Track Moderators: Mirjam Lindberg, Mike Fedorov
This track focuses on the practical application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques in the control and operation of large-scale scientific facilities. Topics include the use of AI/ML for system optimization, fault detection, predictive maintenance, and automation of complex control processes. Emphasis is placed on proven implementations, performance improvements, and lessons learned from integrating AI/ML tools into real-world control systems.

MC14: Digital Twins & Simulation

MC14

Track Moderators: Timo Korhonen, Enrique Blanco
The rapid advancement of digital twin technology and simulation methodologies is transforming controls in particle accelerators, experimental areas and their associated technical facilities, enabling smarter decision-making, enhanced online controls, and the efficient design of innovative systems through simulation-driven approaches.
This track highlights key topics, including the use of high-fidelity models in advanced control systems, virtual commissioning of complex infrastructures, fault detection and diagnostics, and approaches to tune and optimize systems or enhancing energy efficiency. It showcases the latest advancements, practical applications, and challenges in utilizing digital twins for control systems, with a focus on addressing critical issues such as scalability, integration, and computational efficiency.
Keywords: Digital twin, simulation, predictive analytics, fault detection, system optimization, virtual commissioning

MC15: Feedback Systems & Optimization

MC15

Track Moderators: Daniel Tavares, Yuke Tian, Yingbing Yan
Modern large experiment facilities include complex systems that cannot be operated without the use of control loops and automated processes. By tracking trajectories and regulating process variables to given setpoints, while counteracting external disturbances and system deviations in real time, feedback and feedforward systems optimize performance, minimize downtime, reduce energy consumption, and provide safe operations in large experiments.
This track focuses on techniques that enable real-time optimization, predictive performance, and improved stability of control loops in large-scale facility systems. It encompasses a range of topics, including general feedback and feedforward, Single-Input Single-Output (SISO) and Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) control loop designs, plant optimization, system identification, systems modeling, robust control, adaptive control, nonlinear control, Model Predictive Control (MPC), Iterative Learning Control (ILC), and other related methods rooted in control theory.
Keywords: feedback, feedforward, control loop, closed loop, system identification, dynamical systems, optimization, control theory

MC16: Data Management and Analytics

MC16

Track Moderators: Chris Roderick, Gary Croke
Data management comprises aspects of the data lifecycle such as collection, storage, organization, integration, and security. Data analytics involve activities such as examination, transformation, interpretation and visualization, with goals of extracting valuable information, communicating insights, drawing conclusions and representing results in a comprehensible form. This track covers everything that is data-centric, including processes, systems and tools to manage and analyze different types of data, including batch and stream processing. Contributions highlighting real-world challenges, lessons learned, and implemented solutions are especially welcome.
Keywords: data, dataset, database, metadata, ‘big data’, management, analytics, storage, collection, visualization, processing, stream, batch, organization.