Scientific instruments - such as spectrometers, telescopes, sensor platforms or research vessels - play a central role in data collection and experimental research. Their unique identification through persistent identifiers (PIDs) significantly improves the transparency, reusability and documentation of research processes.

The RDA working group “Persistent Identification of Instruments (PIDINST)” has published a white paper in 2023 that proposes a community-driven, cross-disciplinary solution for the permanent and unique identification of measurement instruments. The aim is not only to describe instruments, but also to make them reliably referenceable - for example by permanently linking them to metadata or integrating QR codes that refer to the PID.

Use cases from Germany, including from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, the Alfred Wegener Institute and the Forschungszentrum Jülich, show how instruments in complex research environments are already being successfully addressed with PIDs. The metadata schema developed by PIDINST is now actively used by DataCite and its members.

Which PIDs are used - and where are they available?

• DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
  DOIs can be assigned to scientific instruments via DataCite. These enable permanent referencing and integration into research data and publication contexts.
• B2Inst
  The B2Inst service (provided by EUDAT) is a specialized platform for registering instruments with DOIs and also offers extensive metadata collection. B2Inst is permanently integrated into the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and also allows users to set up their own registries, which enable descriptions that go beyond the standardized DataCite metadata.

In May 2024 a workshop on the topic of PIDs for instruments was held, the report can be viewed here.