raghavprasad13/Final-VR

Final-VR

• Final-VR
  • Getting started
  • Steps to build
  • Running the project
  • Fictrac
    • Adjusting Fictrac settings
      • Windows
      • macOS
      • For developers
    • Shutting down Fictrac
      • Windows
      • macOS
  • Neuralynx
  • For contributors

Getting started

Before building and running the project, there are a few prerequisites that need to be in place.

• Unity 2020.1.10.f1: Download Unity Hub and sign up for a personal license. Install Unity version 2020.1.10.f1 by going to Installs > Add > 2020.1.10f1. If this version of Unity is not visible in Unity Hub, visit the Unity Downloads archive and choose to install the required version of Unity using the Unity Hub link for it. Next, choose the following modules for installation:
  • Mac Build Support (IL2CPP)
  • WebGL Build Support
  • Windows Build Support (Mono)
  • Visual Studio (optional, download only if you don't have this installed on your system already)

Steps to build

1. Open command prompt/Terminal in a location where you want the VR project folder to reside.
2. git clone https://github.com/raghavprasad13/Final-VR.git
3. Open Unity Hub and make sure you are in the Projects tab. Click "Add" and choose the folder that was created as a result of step 1
4. Make sure you have Unity version 2020.1.10f1 installed. This can be installed from Unity Hub by going to Installs > Add > 2020.1.10f1
5. Click on Final-VR and wait for Unity to build the project

Running the project

1. Press the play button
2. Choose a Track (.track) file [choose either random_5.track or lrt_strobe.track for now]. The track files reside in the project folder at Assets/Resources/Tracks
3. Move the avatar around using the arrow keys or WASD
4. Press Q to quit

Fictrac

For now, Fictrac has to be downloaded and installed separately. In the future, we will bundle Fictrac with the rest of the VR code.

Adjusting Fictrac settings

Fictrac is shipped with the VR application and resides in the project folder at Assets\StreamingAssets\fictrac. Both macOS and Windows builds of Fictrac are included at Assets/StreamingAssets/fictrac/macos and Assets\StreamingAssets\fictrac\windows respectively. Thus, there is no need for a separate installation.

The VR needs 2 elements of Fictrac to be in place in order to use it:

• The Fictrac binary/excutable
• The Fictrac config file

According to the OS you are using, here is where you will find and modify these elements:

Windows

• Fictrac executable: Found at F:\Lab\VR_Room3\VREngines\VRFicTrac_6-7\FicTrac2.01\bin\Release\fictrac.exe. Does not need to be modified (unless a newer version of Fictrac needs to be used). Preserve the filename fictrac.exe and its location.
• Fictrac config file: Found at F:\Lab\VR_Room3\VREngines\VRFicTrac_6-7\FicTrac2.01\bin\Release\vr_fictrac_config.txt. Should be modified every time there is a change required in Fictrac configuration. Preserve the filename vr_fictrac_config.txt and its location.

The Fictrac build for Windows is extrenal to the VR project and is connected to the VR via fictrac_starter.bat which can be found in the VR project folder at Assets\StreamingAssets\fictrac_starter.bat

macOS

• Fictrac executable: Found at Assets/StreamingAssets/fictrac/bin/fictrac. Does not need to be modified (unless a newer version of Fictrac needs to be used). Preserve the filename fictrac and its location.
• Fictrac config file: Found at Assets/StreamingAssets/fictrac/vr_fictrac_config.txt. Should be modified every time there is a change required in Fictrac configuration. Preserve the filename vr_fictrac_config.txt and its location.

For developers

The main C# file concerned with Fictrac handling is FictracController.cs. Also Constants.cs contains a field called FictracPort. The value of this field should match the out_port (or sock_port in later versions of Fictrac) parameter value in the Fictrac config file.

Shutting down Fictrac

For now, Fictrac can be shut down from within the VR by hitting the Q key. However, this might not always work in case the FPS is too low (< 1). The steps to shut down Fictrac manually after stopping the VR in Unity are as follows:

Windows

• Open a command prompt as administrator and type in netstat -ano | findstr <port_number> where <port_number> is to be replaced with the port number being used for Fictrac.
• Note the PID associated with the processes that are displayed as a result of the previous step. The PID will be the number on the far right of each line.
• taskkill /F /pid <process_id> where <process_id> is the PID noted in the previous step

macOS

• Open Activity Monitor and find the fictrac process
• Double-click the fictrac process to open it up in a separate dialog box
• Press the Quit button

Neuralynx

Neuralynx is the electrophysiological recording hardware apparatus which is going to be controlled using Arduino generated TTL pulses. The Unity VR project sends start and stop signals to the Arduino. The code to control the Arduino is housed in NeuralynxController.cs

The code requires the name of the Arduino Serial port beforehand. Currently this is being hardcoded in the constant ArduinoPort in Constants.cs. This hardcoded value needs to be updated according to the local configuration. The name of the serial port can be ascertained by checking Tools > Port in the Arduino IDE. This piece of code can later be modified to read the Serial port name and the baud rate from either a track file or from the OS.

For contributors

Only push the Assets and ProjectSettings folders (and README.md and .gitignore) of the Unity project to GitHub. These folders are sufficient to recreate the project. If you try to push other parts of the project it may be rejected due to Github's 100MB file size limit. Make sure to use GitHub Flow to make changes to the repository.