The FAIR-by-design approach developed at CNR-IOM is based on a modular software suite called FAIRy, written in Python and available online. It is designed to manage data flows from laboratory instruments—which are often heterogeneous and sometimes not equipped for digital communication—by integrating them in real time with inputs from laboratory personnel.
For each technique and experimental setup, a dedicated data pipeline has been defined. These pipelines integrate data streams from any newly added sensors and include textual notes and comments from the experimenters.
To address the heterogeneity of the laboratories, various strategies and tools have been applied. A key step toward creating a unified data environment was the introduction of a shared electronic logbook (eLabFTW) across all laboratories. In some cases, custom interfaces for data entry and experiment management were developed and integrated into the data pipelines.
For a set of sensors typically used continuously, a monitoring system was designed based on MQTT protocols, commonly used in IoT applications. Device management was implemented using webGME, enabling laboratory staff to independently modify the code whenever the experimental setup changes.
Each experimental technique’s data pipeline results in the creation of a NeXuS file for each measurement or process. These files are formatted according to the NeXuS standard or application definitions currently under validation, which have been shared within NFFA-DI and with the FAIRmat consortium.
Additional software utilities have been developed to automatically upload NeXuS files into the OFED system, following the access and user management protocols defined by OFED itself.
