New feature: WaitForExternalTrigger #937
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- Feature which waits for an external trigger to continue on to the next feature block - Useful when combined with LoopByCount where each iteration depends on some external event
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I found a bug... In the proposed feature list using multiposition above, the stage will not go back to the first position after the first iteration. It just repeatedly stacks the last position. I'll investigate why and report back. |
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## develop #937 +/- ##
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- Coverage 53.18% 53.08% -0.10%
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Files 177 177
Lines 19020 19052 +32
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- Hits 10115 10114 -1
- Misses 8905 8938 +33
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- current_idx is initialized in the constructor, which is only called when you first run the feature - Need to reset it to zero if using LoopByCount in for example, a time series
I found the issue! There appears to have been a bug in MoveToNextPositionInMultiPositionTable. At least when I ran this feature list without my new triggering block, just a normal loop, I got the same issue:
It turns out current_idx needs to be reset in the signal_func in order for it to work with LoopByCount. Making this bug fix allows it to return to the original position using a nested loop. I tested it with my WaitForExternalTrigger and it works properly now! |
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This is a great addition. Before we merge, I think it would be a good idea to have the calls to the data acquisition card go through the device abstraction layer. This way, should we add additional ways to receive external signals (e.g., Tiger Controller, TriggerScope), it will be more modular. |
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| # Create a digital input task and wait until either a trigger is detected, | ||
| # or the timeout is exceeded. If timeout < 0, wait forever... | ||
| self.task = nidaqmx.Task('WaitDigitalEdge') |
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self.task = self.model.active_microscope.daq.create_digital_edge()...
This way if we add a different daq in the future, from another manufacturer, we do not have to rewrite the feature.
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The task is moved to daq_ni.py. Please test the code.
| @@ -624,6 +695,11 @@ def signal_func(self): | |||
| self.model.move_stage(abs_pos_dict, wait_until_done=True) | |||
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| self.model.logger.debug("MoveToNextPositionInMultiPosition: move done") | |||
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| # Make sure to go back to the beginning if using LoopByCount | |||
| if self.current_idx == self.position_count: | |||
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According to @annie-xd-wang, the multi position feature does not reset the index for the position in the table after it loops. Might be better to update there. She will take a look at it.
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@annie-xd-wang will adjust the code, and then @conorhughmcfadden can test it again on his system, and I will test it on one of our rigs too. If all goes well, we will merge it.
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@conorhughmcfadden has fixed it.
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I tested it on my system and Annie's changes work well! There was a minor bug fix but just a typo. I tested the following feature:
[({"name": WaitForExternalTrigger,"args": ("/PCIe-6738/PFI4",-1,),},{"name": PrepareNextChannel,},({"name": MoveToNextPositionInMultiPositionTable,},{"name": ZStackAcquisition,"args": (False,False,"z-stack",),},{"name": WaitToContinue,},{"name": LoopByCount,"args": ("experiment.MicroscopeState.multiposition_count",),},),{"name": LoopByCount,"args": (3,),},),]
Works the same as before!
… conor-develop-20240711
Just a bug fix
Put this feature in your feature list to wait for an external digital trigger before moving on to the next block.
Example feature list which worked:
[{"name": PrepareNextChannel,},({"name": WaitForExternalTrigger,"args": ("/PCIe-6738/PFI4",-1,),},({"name": MoveToNextPositionInMultiPositionTable,},{"name": ZStackAcquisition,"args": (True,True,),},{"name": WaitToContinue,},{"name": LoopByCount,"args": ("experiment.MicroscopeState.multiposition_count",),},),{"name": LoopByCount,"args": (5,),},),]Option to set a timeout to break the loop if no trigger is incoming.
Tested with a function generator hooked up to PFI4 and it seemed to work well.