In addition to an external limit switch, knobby implements a virtual bounding box outside of which the objective will not move. This additional safety feature is turned on by clicking the travel limit checkbox in knobby’s panel (highlighted in yellow below). The bounding box is centered on the location the objective was a the time…
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Adding a limit switch
It is desirable to have an additional safety mechanism to prevent the scope from accidentally moving beyond a certain limit, such as imposing a lower limit on the z-axis beyond which the objective might hit an object. The firmware on the motor box can be set up so an external signal coming from a limit…
Read MoreSpatial Calibration for Multiple Objectives
Multiple users of the scope may be running projects that require different types of objectives. How to keep a spatial calibration for each and switch between them when necessary? Scanbox now includes an “objective” configuration variable — a cell array of strings each with the name of a different objective. Right now I have: Now,…
Read MoreAutomatic Optotune Calibration
We previously explained how to calibrate the optotune manually. With the introduction of Knobby 2, we are able to make this process automatic. You will now find a ‘Calibration’ button in the Optotune panel. To use it, do the following: Set the optotune slider to its lowest value (slide all the way down) Bring some pollen…
Read MoreClick-and-Center with Knobby Mouse Control
If you have been making use of Knobby’s spatial calibration button, you can now move on to interacting with Knobby remotely. The new Knobby scheduler panel looks a bit expanded. The speed (coarse/fine/super-fine), the mode (normal/rotate), and zero (XYZ/XYZA) buttons should be self explanatory. They do exactly the same as if you were to be…
Read MoreSpatial Calibration and return to origin
We added two new features to the knobby scheduler panel, as shown below by the arrows. One (left arrow) allows knobby to perform an automatic spatial calibration of the system, measuring the (x,y) size of pixels at all magnifications. To perform this calculation do the following: Focus on some pollen grains. Make sure one of the…
Read MoreKnobby scheduler
A new Scanbox panel allows users to define arbitrary changes in (x,y,z) position over time (frames) which are then executed by Knobby (version 2 only) while imaging. Each entry define changes in x, y and z (in micrometers) relative to the present position and the frame number at which they will take place. The “mem”…
Read MoreKnobby 2.0
Have you ever had trouble hitting the menu items in Knobby? Do you have big, fat fingers like Josh or Dario? Then Knobby 2.0 is for you! Featuring a 5″ diagonal touch screen with real buttons and added functionality! Coming to you soon… Stay tuned!
Read MoreVirtual Knobby
Happy new year! We have plenty of exciting Scanbox developments happening this year, so stay tuned to the blog. You don’t want to miss anything! We recently introduced a wireless version of knobby that runs on Android tablets. The same software is now available to run on Windows, side-by-side your Scanbox application. The controls and behavior…
Read MoreDisabling Knobby’s automatic reset
[Note: please do not use this feature yet — there are some bugs that need to be worked out. I will keep you posted.] Up to now starting a new Scanbox session from Matlab causes knobby will auto-reset, bringing all the position counters back to zero and clearing all its position memories. This is done because…
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