An attribute can be made available as a counter by adding an entry to /online_dir/online.xml:
<device> <name>double_scalar</name> <type>counter</type> <module>tangoattributectctrl</module> <device>sys/tg_test/1/double_scalar</device> <control>tango</control> <hostname>hasXXX:10000</hostname> </device>
The device double_scalar will be created by the next SardanaAIO.py -x.