  We provide a minimal strategy for the quantitative analysis of a large class
of non-equilibrium systems in a {statistically} steady state using the
short-time Thermodynamic Uncertainty Relation (TUR). From short-time trajectory
data obtained from experiments, we demonstrate how we can simultaneously infer
quantitatively, both the thermodynamic force field acting on the system, as
well as the (potentially exact) rate of entropy production. We benchmark this
scheme first for an experimental study of a colloidal particle system where
exact analytical results are known, before applying it to the case of a
colloidal particle in a hydrodynamical flow field, where neither analytical nor
numerical results are available. In this latter case, we build an effective
model of the system based on our results. In both cases, we also demonstrate
that our results match with those obtained from another recently introduced
scheme [Phys. Rev. X 10, 021009].
