Project Aeon - Acquisition

The Project Aeon acquisition repository contains the set of standardized data acquisition systems, protocols, operation instructions and metadata necessary for reproducible task control and acquisition on the foraging arena assay. The scripts contained in this repository should always represent as accurately as possible the automation routines and operational instructions used to log the experimental raw data for Project Aeon. Each acquired dataset should have a reference to the specific hash or release from this repository which was used in the experiment.

Build Instructions

Schema classes

1. Install bonsai.sgen by running the restore command:

   dotnet tool restore

2. Run the command to regenerate each schema class, e.g. for ChannelMap.json:

   dotnet bonsai.sgen --namespace Aeon.Environment --schema ChannelMap.json

Deployment Instructions

The Project Aeon acquisition framework runs on the Bonsai visual programming language. This repository includes installation scripts which will automatically download and configure a reproducible, self-contained, Bonsai environment to run all acquisition systems on the foraging arena. It is necessary, however, to install a few system dependencies and device drivers which need to be installed separately, before runnning the environment configuration script.

Prerequisites

These should only need to be installed once on a fresh new system, and are not required if simply refreshing the install or deploying to a new folder.

• Windows 10
• Visual Studio Code (recommended for editing code scripts and git commits)
• .NET Framework 4.7.2 Developer Pack (required for intellisense when editing code scripts)
• Git for Windows (recommended for cloning and manipulating this repository)
• Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2012 (native dependency for OpenCV)
• FTDI CDM Driver 2.12.28 (serial port drivers for HARP devices)
• Spinnaker SDK 1.29.0.5 (device drivers for FLIR cameras)
  • On FLIR website: Download > archive > 1.29.0.5 > SpinnakerSDK_FULL_1.29.0.5_x64.exe
• pylon 7.1.0 Camera Software Suite (device drivers for Basler cameras)

Hardware Setup

The current workflows are designed to work with FLIR Spinnaker Blackfly S cameras, BFS-U3-16S2M, or alternatively the Basler ace U acA1440-220um running on the Pylon drivers. Blackfly S cameras are configured by the experiment workflow itself. For Basler ace cameras it is necessary to export a config file from the pylon Viewer from the Camera > Save Features... menu. The config *.pfs can be used by the PylonVideoSource to ensure reproducible configurations for each camera. Each camera should be connected to the main acquisition computer using USB 3.1, ideally making sure there are no more than 2 or 3 cameras per USB hub in the computer. Cameras are assigned through their unique serial numbers, so the order of connection is not important.

Harp devices are synchronized in a hub and spoke topology using a ClockSynchronizer board. Cameras are triggered simultaneously using one of two independent PWM pulses generated by an OutputExpander board (the VideoController). Hirose 6-pin GPIO cables can be used to connect the trigger line to the cameras.

Each patch is controlled independently by one OutputExpander board (Patch1 and Patch2). These boards monitor the wheel encoder and control the FED3 pellet dispenser. The FED3 is powered by USB to continously charge its battery, with a digital line coming from the Expander boards to trigger pellet delivery. Detection of whether a pellet has been delivered on the chute is done using a digital line from the collector of the photo-transistor built into the FED3 through a 1 kOhm pull-up resistor.

All these boards are connected to the computer and configured at the following COM ports:

COM Port	Device Name
COM6	ClockSynchronizer
COM3	VideoController
COM4	Patch1
COM7	Patch2

Automatic weighing of animals is performed using the Ohaus Navigator NVT2201 Electronic Balance via their USB interface. This requires the following setup procedure to be done on the balance itself before it is connected to the system for the first time:

1. Rotate the transportation lock located under the balance to the unlocked position.
2. Level the balance to ensure the level indicator bubble on the top-right corner of the front panel is centered.
3. Connect the USB Interface to the communication port located under the balance, and to the computer.
4. Hold the Tare button until the display changes to Menu and then release the button. The display should now show .C.A.L..
5. Press the Print / Nobutton until the menu shows U.S.b..
6. Press the Zero / Yes button once to start USB interface configuration. For each configuration parameter, pressing Zero / Yes confirms and advances to the next parameter, and Print / No cycles through the different options. Set the following parameters:
   • On-Off: On
   • Baud: 9600
   • Parity: 8-none
   • Handsh: none
   • End: End
7. Back to the main menu, press the Print / No button until the menu shows Mode.
8. Press the Zero / Yes button once to start mode configuration and set the following configuration:
   • Stable: Off
9. Back to the main menu, press the Print / No button until the menu shows P.r.i.n.t.
10. Press the Zero / Yes button once to start automatic print configuration and set the following parameters:
    • Stable: Off
    • A.Print: Cont
    • End: End

Environment Setup

The bonsai folder contains a snapshot of the runtime environment required to run experiments on the foraging arena. The setup.cmd batch script is included in this repository to automate the download and configuration of this environment. Simply double-clicking on this script should launch the necessary powershell commands as long as an active connection to the internet is available.

In case the configuration of the environment ever gets corrupted, you can revert the bonsai folder to its original state by deleting all the executable and package files and folders and re-running the setup.cmd script. This process may be automated in the future.

Alerts Webhook

The system supports sending alerts to incoming webhooks configured on a Slack or Teams channel. This is used during acquisition for live notifications of critical failures, warnings or other conditions of interest which might require manual intervention.

The following setup procedure details how to configure an incoming webhook (admin access is required):

1. Create the Teams channel which will receive the alerts.
2. Right-click channel name > Connectors.
3. Find Incoming Webhook and click Configure.
4. Provide a name for the Webhook and click Create.
5. Copy the webhook URL and store it, this is the Address you will need to provide to the SendMessageCard node.

Data Transfer

Data is continuously transferred to a CEPH partition by calling Robocopy from a scheduled task which runs periodically every hour. This task is started as soon as the computer boots, using the OS task scheduler. A script with the task definitions is versioned in this repository at workflows\RobocopyAeon.xml. This script can be installed in a new computer by opening the Task Scheduler app and selecting Action > Import Task.

The data transfer script currently assumes data is collected in D:\ProjectAeon\experiment0.1 and backed up to a network mount at Z:\experiment0.1.

Calibration Targets

To allow spatial registration of video data, all cameras used in Project Aeon need to be calibrated against a series of targets to extract both intrinsic and extrinsic parameters.

Calibration of camera intrinsics requires a 13x9 checkerboard of an appropriate scale for the camera sensor and lens focal distance.

Checkerboard patterns were generated at calib.io with the following parameters:

Camera	Board Size (mm)	Checker Size (mm)
Top	420 x 594	40
Side	85.6 x 53.98	5

The larger Top pattern was printed into an Aluminium (Dibond) sheet with straight edges to ensure a rigid flat surface.

The smaller Side pattern was printed onto the back of a blank ID card using an ID card printer.

Camera Intrinsics

Extraction of camera intrinsics was performed using OpenCV calibration routines in Python. The python folder contains scripts which can be used to bootstrap an environment compatible with the acquisition setup.

In addition, if using Windows 10 N editions or LTSR, the media feature pack may need to be installed in advance.

Below are details for the specific environments we have tested:

• Windows LTSR : Version 1807 (AEON2 - Download from microsoft support)
• Windows 10 N: Version 20H2 (latest AEON1 - Apps & Features > Add a feature)

Room Light Controller

Room lights can be dynamically controlled using a serial over ethernet protocol and the ES-257 Ethernet to Serial from Brainboxes. These provide addressable control of built-in light panels. Each one of the panels houses three different light temperatures (warm white, cold white, red). Each combination of color channel and panel has a unique address in the system. There are two available ports to connect on the ES-257, and each port allows access to full light control on all four rooms.

The drivers can be obtained from the Brainboxes website support page. At the time of writing we are using Boost.LAN Driver Version 4.3.284.0.

After installation, the network should be scanned for devices using Boost.LAN Manager File > "Find Devices". The ES-257 should be automatically detected and displayed in the list. The virtual COM ports then need to be installed by selecting the device and the option "Install Virtual COM Port". After successful configuration, the ports should be listed in Windows device manager.

Citation Policy

If you use this software, please cite it as below:

D. Campagner, J. Bhagat, G. Lopes, L. Calcaterra, A. G. Pouget, A. Almeida, T. T. Nguyen, C. H. Lo, T. Ryan, B. Cruz, F. J. Carvalho, Z. Li, A. Erskine, J. Rapela, O. Folsz, M. Marin, J. Ahn, S. Nierwetberg, S. C. Lenzi, J. D. S. Reggiani, SGEN group – SWC GCNU Experimental Neuroethology Group. Aeon: an open-source platform to study the neural basis of ethological behaviours over naturalistic timescales. Preprint at https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.31.664513 (2025)