Simplifying Video Analysis: An Arduino Trial Counter
Many neuroscience labs record videos of animals performing behavioral tasks. When your video system is fully integrated and cameras are precisely synchronized with your behavioral control system, finding frames for specific trials is straightforward. But what happens when you’re using a simple webcam or a high-end camera without synchronization? Suddenly, sifting through hours of footage to pinpoint specific trials becomes a frustrating, time-consuming task.
The Laubach Lab at American University has developed a clever, open-source solution to this common problem: a simple Arduino setup that provides a real-time, physical indicator of the current trial number.
Developed by Jason Blackmer, a rising third-year undergraduate student majoring in neuroscience and data science, this device uses the LED matrix on an Arduino UNO WiFi R4 to display the active trial number during an experiment. By simply placing this device within view of your camera, you get an immediate visual cue that’s embedded directly into your video recording.
This tool simplifies data organization in your video recordings. It makes it much easier to:
- Quickly locate specific trials in recorded videos.
- Identify discrepancies between your video footage and any separate timestamp data.
It’s an elegant, low-cost way to bridge the gap between your behavioral data and your video analysis.
The Arduino code and full setup instructions are available for you to implement in your own research: HERE.