Knowledge Base

Camera Settings

Camera Type and Lens

The camera used in Noldus systems for Fear Conditioning is a Basler camera acA1300-60gm with a 2.95 mm fixed focal lens, F2.0, 1/1.8".

How to View the Live Camera Image

In order to view the camera image, you must activate the IR light in the cubicle. The camera has an IR-pass filter that blocks visible light.

1. Make sure that the camera has been configured and connected to the PC.
2. Start EthoVision XT and create a new experiment (File > New) or open an existing experiment without trials acquired.
3. Choose Setup > Experiment Settings.
4. Under Video Source select Live tracking.
5. Select the camera from the list under Source.
6. Click the camera button for the live view.

Camera Orientation

The camera has been optimized at Noldus before shipping, therefore in most cases you do not need to adjust its orientation. If, for any reason, the video image is not optimized, follow the instructions below.

Camera Alignment

This section applies for previous FCS versions which had the Noldus IR light box on top.

Turn the three screws indicated to alter the camera orientation. If you tighten one of the screws, the camera points more to the other side. Loosen the same screw to have the opposite effect. For example, tighten screw b to have the camera pointing more to the back of the cubicle. Check the resulting image in EthoVision XT; make sure that the bottom of the cage is aligned at the center of the camera view.

Camera Software Settings

The camera frame rate, exposure time, and other settings can be adjusted in EthoVision XT or in the camera software Pylon Viewer.

In EthoVision XT, choose Setup > Experiment Settings. Click the camera button and locate the settings you want to change. For multiple cameras, adjust the settings for the first camera, then adjust the resolution of the Merged view.

Video Resolution and Camera Zoom Level

The camera lens of the FCS is a fixed focal lens. To adjust the zoom level, adjust the video resolution (in pixels) so that a portion of the maximal camera view is recorded. Note how the resolution setting crops the image.

• Color Space: Mono8 (Y800)
• Video Resolution Single Camera (H x V): 640 x 480
• Video Resolution Merged View (H x V): 1280 x 960
• Acquisition Frame Rate: 25 or 30

In the example configuration, EthoVision XT makes a video of 1600 x 1200 from four cameras set to 800 x 600.

Important: Whenever you change the resolution, open the Arena Settings and update the background image for your arenas before acquiring data.

The Binning Option

If you need to reduce the video resolution without cropping the image, you can use the Binning option in the Video Settings of EthoVision XT.

In EthoVision XT, choose Setup > Experiment Settings. Click the camera button and in the Video Settings window click the General tab. Select the Binning option. The Binning option reduces the number of pixels of the single camera image by half but does not crop the image.

• If you select Binning, be aware that the brightness of the image increases. Make sure this does not negatively affect detection. If the image is too bright, reduce the Exposure time or the Gain.
• The Binning option must be the same across all cameras. Remember to select or de-select the Binning option for all cameras before setting the resolution of the merged view.

Image Brightness

If the image from the camera is too dark, do one of the following based on your FCS version:

• If you have the IR light controller attached to the cubicle, turn the knob of the IR light controller all the way to the right. In most cases this is enough to make detection optimal.
• Increase the IR light intensity up to 100% with the Trial Control Settings in EthoVision XT.
• Increase the IR light intensity using the software on the tablet PC.
• Place white plates at the sides and at the bottom of the FCS cage to increase contrast with dark-fur animals. Place dark plates in case of white animals.

To increase the brightness of the image further, adjust camera settings in EthoVision XT or Pylon Viewer:

• Increase the camera Exposure time. Be aware that a too-high exposure time may conflict with the camera frame rate. EthoVision XT shows a message in the Video Settings window if that is the case.
• Increase the Gain. Be aware that a higher Gain also creates more image noise.
• To increase brightness without increasing noise, set Binning Horizontal and Binning Vertical with the Binning Mode set to Summing for both. Note that with binning, the video resolution width and height in pixels will be half of the original.

Older versions of the Ugo Basile FCS have the IR light source placed at one of the top corners of the cubicle. You do not need to operate this light if you have the IR light box above the conditioning cage.

Upgrade Your FCS System

Aim

To adapt the Fear Conditioning System for use in combination with EthoVision XT 17.5 and later. The touchscreen controller is no longer needed. You can adjust the FCS settings (e.g. tone frequency, shock current) directly in EthoVision XT. The time needed for installation and setting adjustment is approximately one hour.

Prerequisites

You have received the following from Ugo Basile:

• 1x upgrade box for each cubicle
• 1x power cable, 1x USB cable, 4x color-coded cables for each cubicle
• Two hexagonal Allen keys

Ugo Basile requires the touchscreen controller to be returned first, so that they can copy the settings of the touchscreen controller and Fear Conditioning box to the upgrade box. This ensures you can work with the same settings as before.

Procedure

1. Remove the four screws at the corners of the upgrade box and remove the cover plate.

Source: EthoVision XT 18 - Application Manual, Noldus Information Technology