Key features

Easy instrument integration

The MyTardis data management platform is a software solution that manages research data and the associated metadata. 

The MyData app is designed to sit alongside an instrument, automatically pushing data to MyTardis. Whether on the instrument control computer itself, or a computer close by, MyData can provide facility employees and users alike instant feedback on data’s availability in MyTardis.

Engineered with ‘big data’ instruments in mind, MyData has the capability to upload thousands of gigabytes of instrument data to MyTardis efficiently and is compatible with all major platforms (Windows, Linux-based and Mac).

Discipline specific: MX, Imaging, Microscopy, Genomics ...

MyTardis was originally created by the Structural Biology research community to manage the data generated by the Macromolecular Crystallography beamline at the Australian Synchrotron. It has since been adopted by Microscopy, Imaging, Genomics, Proteomics and Flow Cytometry researchers and facilities.

MyTardis is, at its core, a solution that provides efficient and reliable data transfer, manages data storage and provides easy mechanisms to access and share the data.  Built around this core functionality are features that allow MyTardis to process discipline specific file formats to extract metadata and also provide the appropriate visualisation for this data in the web interface.

The News Blog and Major Deployments pages provide more information about the use of MyTardis across various research disciplines.

Wide range of data formats & supported instruments

MyData/MyTardis is now used at 50+ instruments, across 20+ facilities, at 7+ institutions; in addition 17 further instruments are planned at 4 institutions.

Types of instruments that have been integrated with this platform include:

• Microscopes: Cryo-electron, advanced light, fluorescence, confocal, multiphoton, scanning electron, transmission electron
• Gene Sequencers
• Flow cytometers and analysers
• Cell Sorters and analysers 
• MRIs, MR/PET, PET/CT
• X-ray diffractometers
• Mass spectrometers

Secure cloud data storage & access

High quality data underpins successful research. When a researcher has valuable data, it needs to be 'managed' to maximise the research outcomes that can be derived from this data. 

MyTardis handles the underlying storage, whether it is Local Disk Storage, Mounted Network Drives (NFS, CIFS, SSHFS), S3 Object Storage or Swift Object Storage, to ensure that data is securely archived. MyTardis provides access to the data through a web portal . This data can also be accessed using an SFTP client like Cyberduck.

Simple data sharing

MyTardis enables researchers to easily collaborate over data with colleagues anywhere. 

MyTardis gives the researcher complete control over who has access to their data. The data can be shared with collaborators both within and outside an institution as long as they have a MyTardis account; or a temporary access link can be created to share data with anyone, even if they do not have a MyTardis account.

Researcher controlled data publishing

Research data that is generated and collected for a specific study may have potential value beyond its original intent. When research data is published and made accessible, it improves the transparency of the research and often leads to more citations.

MyTardis provides a simple publication wizard to pick datasets to be published, along with metadata that describes the data collection. Furthermore, an embargo period can also be applied to the data. On publication, a publicly visible non-editable copy of this data is created along with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The DOI makes the data easily citable. Metadata about published collections can also be harvested by research data repositories like the Australian National Data Services' (ANDS') Research Data Australia.