A212 File format reference

This page explains the format of A212 data files saved from Exploration Tool using the application or recorders in the API. A212 records are currently only stored in HDF5 (.h5).

Tip

We recommend loading and saving records using the built in functions in the acconeer.exptool.a2 module.

See examples/a2/load_data_with_antenna_masks_and_sub_sampling.py for an example of loading data, and examples/a2/record_data/barebones.py for saving data.

Examples of loading

Some minimal examples of loading the session config from a data file:

Using acconeer.exptool.a2.open_record() (recommended):

from acconeer.exptool import a2
record = a2.open_record("data.h5")
print(record.session_config)
# SessionConfig(
#     sensor_configs=[SensorConfig(subsweeps=[SubsweepConfig(start_point=80, num_points=3, step_length=1, profile=<Profile.PROFILE_3: 3>, prf=<PRF.PRF_20_8_MHZ: 3>, tx_antenna_mask=3, rx_antenna_mask=15
# ...

Using h5py:

import json
import h5py
with h5py.File("data.h5") as f:
   print(json.loads(f["session/session_config"][()]))
# {'sensor_configs':
#     [{'subsweeps': [{'start_point': 80, 'num_points': 3, 'step_length': 1, 'profile': 'PROFILE_3', 'tx_antenna_mask': 3, 'rx_antenna_mask': 15
#     ...

HDF5 structure

client_info

JSON string representation of ClientInfo.

generation

String containing the sensor generation, i.e., “a2”.

lib_version

String containing the Exploration Tool version used to record.

server_info

JSON string representation of ServerInfo.

session

A soft link to sessions/session_0. Used for backwards-compatibility.

sessions/session_X

HDF5 group containing all data related to the recorded session. X is an integer starting from 0.

group_Y/

HDF5 configuration group Y. Y is an integer starting from 0.

result/

HDF5 group with a dataset for every field in the Result.

frame

3D array with dimensions (frame, sweep, distance) of the original complex data from the session.

The data type is a structured type with fields real and imag, both 16 bit signed integers (int16).

Note

Not the same type as frame.

data_saturated

1D boolean array with dimension (frame) of the data_saturated flags.

...

See fields in Result.

tick_period

Integer representing the tick period.

session_config

JSON string representation of SessionConfig.

timestamp

String containing an ISO 8601 formatted timestamp at the time of creating the H5Recorder.

uuid

String containing a randomly generated version 4 UUID.