PyRenderMaze

(C) 2021 by Jiwon Kim and Caleb Kemere

PyRenderMaze is inspired by our search for a simple, Python-based first-person 3D maze rendering platform for neuroscience experiments. In particular, we make the design decision that the task of the code is soley to render the environment, not to interact with user feedback, etc. This allows the code to be lightweight enough run on low-powered hardware, such as a Raspberry Pi 4B (which can render full-screen video at 60 FPS). Following the theme of minimal weight, we use YAML configuration files for 3D environments and viewport size/perspective/geometry. Once a PyRenderMaze instance is configured, it listens for 3D posiiton updates received from a ZMQ PUB/SUB stream.

This program is designed to run in concert with the [https://github.com/kemerelab/TreadmillIO] project, which includes a hardware interface to a cylindrical treadmill as well as real-time virtual-position-based control of dynamic auditory stimuli. However, as PyRenderMaze runs as a separate process, or indeed, even on separate computers, it can be used independetly.

Quick start

To test, begin by cloning the repository, and ensuring that you have all needed packages (i.e., pandas3d pyzmq pyyaml) installed.

• Run git clone https://github.com/kemerelab/PyRenderMaze
• Install Panda3D Windows or Linux. See notes below for gists describing the installation process for Raspberry Pi.
• Install other dependencies /usr/bin/pip3 install pyzmq pyyaml (note that if you are an Anaconda user, the packaged Panad3D may not be installed in your default conda environment! Using the system python3 and pip3 alleviates this concern.)
• You should then be able to run the program with /usr/bin/python3 main.py. Note that the file display_config.yaml contains the size of the display and the relative geometry of the eye position. You should edit this file in each PyRenderMaze client such that each display renders properly.

When PyRenderMaze starts, it displays a simple screen that reports the IP address that it is listening on for configuration. This simplifies use with headless devices such as the Pi!

• To actually see an environment, the next step is to configure the PyRenderMaze client(s). The script in configure_remotes.py gives an example where 3 different PyRenderMaze clients (i.e., straight ahead, left and right) are configured to display a maze and listen to the proper port.

• To simulate the position stream input, you can use the send_position.py script. Make sure that the port/IP information you've configured in the previous step matches what is in this file!

Notes:

• gist about compiling Panda3D for Raspberry Pi / Ubuntu: [https://gist.github.com/ckemere/c862155111f929ad35f5c7eb0024143f]

TODO:

• Improve Demo