Open scientific software reconstruction
The software your work depends on
shouldn't be able to disappear.
Exbound rebuilds proprietary, abandoned, and monopolized scientific and engineering software in the open — not just readers for the file formats, but working implementations of what the original did: open, edit, compute, fit, graph, script, save, and run.
Why this matters
Lock-in is a preservation problem
Instruments outlive their software. Licenses lapse, vendors discontinue products, formats stay undocumented, and years of measurements become unreadable or uncomputable. A working instrument can be stranded by a dead application.
Reading the files back is necessary but not sufficient. Exbound aims at the whole application — reproducing the computations, the workflows, and the behavior — verified against documented reference behavior, and described by compatibility rather than branding.
How compatibility is established
Observe, implement, verify
01
Observe
Record what the reference software does, from lawfully held copies — files, versions, and computed outputs with the inputs that produced them.
02
Implement
Rebuild the behavior independently and clean-room against that documented reference — formats, numerical methods, and workflows.
03
Verify
Check the implementation against the observed behavior, and report coverage as observed / implemented / verified — never a guess.
Pilot & first targets
Where the work starts
Data analysis & plotting
compatible with OriginPro
An independent Origin-compatible data-analysis and plotting environment — native projects, fitting, transforms, and graphing.
Research in progressMaterials testingMaterials-testing workstation
compatible with Instron Bluehill / Merlin / Series IX
An independent materials-testing application for compatible machines: methods, acquisition, calculations, reporting, extensibility.
Awaiting researchSpectroscopyUV-Vis spectroscopy workstation
compatible with Agilent ChemStation (UV-Vis)
An independent workstation for the supported UV-Vis instrument generations.
Awaiting researchHow progress is measured
A capability model, not a percentage
Every target is assessed across nine capabilities — acquisition, data, documents, computation, workflow, programmability, instrument integration, the user-facing application, and overall replacement coverage — each tracked as what has been observed in the reference,implemented independently, and verified against it. No fabricated completion figures.