Table of Contents

Camera Configuration

The setups need a camera to record the sessions and to monitor the task in real time. Since there's a need for the video to be recorded with some specific settings, this section contains instructions explaining how to configure PointGrey and FLIR cameras, which are the two types of cameras used.

Desired Camera Settings

As mentioned above, there is a need for the camera used in the setup to have some specifications, namely:

  • a frame rate if 100 fps.
  • the ability for the camera to send a pulse to the Harp Behavior every time a frame is being acquired.
  • the ability to receive a pulse from the Harp Behavior when the animal is poking in the central port (by making one of the Behavior's digital outputs mimic the central port digital input).

FLIR

After installing the Spinnaker Drivers, connect the camera to the computer in an USB-3.0 port (connecting it to an USB-2.0 port limits the camera's capabilities, namely the frame rate).

Firmware Update

In order to access the state of the GPIO pins in the camera model BFS-U3-16S2M-CS, it's necessary that the firmware version 2207.2.1.0 is installed. Follow the instructions to verify the firmware version currently installed and install a different version in case it's necessary.

  1. Open the SpinView software.
  2. Select the camera to be configured.
  3. Click on the Update Device Firmware icon. Camera Firmware 1
  4. After a new window pops up, click on its Browse button to choose the firmware file. Then, click on Start. Camera Firmware 2

Camera Configuration

After having the correct firmware version installed, follow the instructions to configure the camera.

  1. Open the SpinView software.
  2. Select the camera to be configured.
  3. Click on the Optimize camera frame rate button (see the figure below).
  4. Click on Features.
  5. Click on the camera model name and then on Acquisition Control.
  6. Change the Acquisition Frame Rate parameter to the desired value. Confirm that the Acquisition Frame Rate Enable setting is checked.
  7. Change the Exposure Auto setting to Off and adjust the Exposure Time to the maximum possible so that the acquisition stays stably at 100 FPS. Camera Config 1
  8. Close the Acquisition Control section and open the one named Digital IO Control.
  9. Select the Line 2 in the Line Selector parameter.
  10. Change the Line Mode to Output. Camera Config 2
  11. Close the Digital IO Control section and open the one named User Set Control.
  12. Select an User Set Selector other than Default.
  13. Select the same User Set in the User Set Default parameter.
  14. Finally, click on the User Set Save button to save the current User Set. Camera Config 3
  15. Optional: Click on Image Format to change the camera resolution and save the User Set again. Camera Config 4

Hardware Connections

In order for the camera to be able to communicate with the Harp Behavior, it's necessary that the camera GPIO cable is connected. The following connections shall be made:

  • Line 2 (pin 3) from the camera to the Behavior's DI3 pin.
  • Line 0 (pin 2) from the camera to the Behavior's DO0 pin.
Warning

Don't forget to connect the camera's grounds (pins 5 and 6) to the Harp Behavior's GND pins!

Camera Pins

GPIO Cable Color Code

The color code for the CEI MVA-50-3-X-3 camera GPIO cable is as follows:

Pin Color
1 White
2 Brown
3 Green
4 Yellow
5 Gray
6 Pink
H Shield

PointGrey

After installing the PointGrey Drivers, connect the camera to the computer in an USB-3.0 port (connecting it to an USB-2.0 port limits the camera's capabilities, namely the frame rate).

Camera Configuration

To configure a PointGrey camera follow the instructions below.

  1. Open the Point Grey FlyCap2 software.
  2. Select the camera to be configured and click on the Configure Selected button. Camera Config 1
  3. In the Camera Settings tab, activate the On/Off checkbox from the FrameRate row and modify its value. Camera Config 2
  4. Go to the Trigger / Strobe tab.
  5. Select the GPIO 0 to be an input and the GPIO 2 to be an output.
  6. Under Strobe Control, activate the Enable strobe for this pin checkbox for GPIO 2 and change the polarity to High. Camera Config 3
  7. Go to the Advanced Camera Settings.
  8. In the Embedded Image Information, select the following fields:
    • Timestamp
    • Frame counter
    • Strobe pattern
    • GPIO pin state
  9. In the Memory Channels section, select a channel different from Default and click on Save to save the current configuration. Camera Config 4
  10. Optional: Go to the Custom Video Modes and modify the camera resolution. Then save the camera configuration again. Camera Config 5

Hardware Connections

Since the GPIO cable used by the PointGrey cameras is different from the one used by the FLIR cameras, the connections that need to be made between the camera and the Harp Behavior are also different. The connections should be made as follows:

  • Pin 1 (I0) from the camera to the Behavior's DO0 pin.
  • Pin 3 (IO2) from the camera do the Behavior's DI3 pin.
Warning

Don't forget to connect the camera's grounds (pins 5 and 6) to the Harp Behavior's GND pins!

Camera Pins

Note

In the actual GPIO cable, the color of the cable corresponding to pin 5 might be purple instead of brown!

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