Author Archive


Publication by Buckley and Bast

Posted 12/13/2018 | By Admin | News, Uncategorized

A new paper by Matthew Buckley and Tobias Bast used MazeSuite and is now published. The paper is also selected to be featured on the cover of the Journal Hippocampus volume 28 issue 11. Congratulations!

Buckley MG, Bast T. A new human delayed‐matching‐to‐place test in a virtual environment reverse‐translated from the rodent watermaze paradigm: Characterization of performance measures and sex differences. Hippocampus. 2018;28:796–812. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.22992

The paper is available freely using this link: https://rdcu.be/bbBHe

Minor Update (3.0.4)

Posted 07/13/2018 | By Admin | News

Minor updates are posted. Please download the latest setup file and re-install the setup to get all updates.

MazeWalker
Updated GLEW to version 2.1.0 and added debug information when OpenGL fails
Serial port functions now only show/save currently available COM ports
Maze Dynamic object unhighlighting improvement
Updated manual document to include new features and changes

MazeAPI
Event marker sending functionality added
Ability to use NaN as an empty argument when sending setting variables
Updated manual document to include new features and changes

Minor Update (3.0.3)

Posted 05/18/2018 | By Admin | News

Minor updates are posted. Please download the latest setup file and re-install the setup to get all updates.

  • MazeWalker
    Added ability to set custom resolutions from ‘Advanced Graphics’
    Added ability to enable borderless windowed mode in ‘Advanced Graphics’
    Updated LPT (Parallel port) Sync functionality
    Changed MazeWalker marker codes (see current marker dictionary table in the manual)
    Updated manual document to include new features and changes
  • MazeAnalyzer
    Added maze file selection and drag drop for files in new project wizard
    Added color display on the left pane for individual paths
    Changed formating for Analyze Tool output
    Added zoom buttons to lower right corner for easy access
    Fixed issues related to MazeRegion definition and Zoom

Minor Update Release (3.0.2)

Posted 03/01/2018 | By Admin | News

Minor updates are posted. Please download the latest setup file and re-install the setup to get all updates.

MazeWalker

    • *New API functionality to Enable/Disable gravity
    • *New API functionality to set and get dynamic object position, scale, rotation, and current model
    • *Serial port options renamed to correct values

MazeAPI

    • *New API functionality to Enable/Disable gravity
    • *New API functionality to set and get dynamic object position, scale, rotation, and current model

MazeAnalyzer

    • *Restored “Play” functionality

Major New Version Release (v3.0)

Posted 10/18/2017 | By Admin | News

A major release for MazeSuite is now available. MazeMaker and MazeAnalyzer have been significantly overhauled along with major improvements in MazeWalker. The user manual has been updated. Summary list of changes and representative screen images are as follows. To get the update, download the latest setup file.

MazeSuite Release 3.0

MazeMaker
New: Completely revised new xml based flexible file format (save/load functionality and backwards compatibility)
New: Added Undo/redo Functionality
New: Added Multiple item selection Copy & Paste of items
New: Added Support for Multi-Copy between different mazes
New: Right-click interaction and context menu
New: MazeWalker perspective settings are now available for each maze (under maze global settings) file
Including 3rd person avatar
New: ActiveRegion Maze Item (programmable area to perform various actions) Display moveto and activateobject when selected.
New: Multiple StartPos can be defined. Random selection feature available.
Added ability to rotate items
Added support for curved walls
Added ability to move objects to top or bottom of maze item list
Added ability to generate circular mazes using the MazeWizard
Added support for changing of visual theme within MazeMaker
Dynamic models now referred to as Dynamic Objects
Dynamic Object (interactive programmable items) When selected, shows move to position and highlight/activate radii
End Regions when selected now point to Move to positions
Active Regions when selected point to Move to Positions and activated objects
Canvas navigation pad updated with zoom controls (upper right corner)
Left pane item tree can make multi select/deselect using ctrl (control) key
Floor vertices now editiable, but linked (allows for creating ramps)
Ensure the Walls and mazeitems are unselected properly + fixed priority for floors vs end regions in selection
Added ability to cancel when closing mazemaker
Added pan and zoom functions for touchscreen controls
Middle click now pans
Updated features are documented in the manual
Various minor UI improvements

MazeAnalyzer
Added Define Rectangular Region as additional option to freeform shapes
New icons, welcome panel, and background
Added ability to show and hide individual maze elements as well as regions
Added Zoom functionality
Added MazeProject functionality
Allows loading multiple mazes and paths and collectively analyzing the data
Added tabs and Project pane view to switch between mazes and remove paths/mazes easier
Can be loaded and saved to ease analysis
Added path tree to sort loaded paths by defined Experimental Info
Added ability to restructure path tree using ChangePriority/Heiracrchy tool
Multiple files can now be opened using drag and drop
Export and Analyze tool now use Experimental info in path names and export using this information
Mazes are now scrollable
Created Path Import Tool to handle assignment of different paths to different mazes
Added ability to load/save/ and reset custom path colors
Added Theming ability to MazeAnalyzer
Defined Regions are embedded within the project file
Added support for touch controls
Added ability for Export Paths tool to show 2D angle at each timepoint
Updated features are documented in the manual

MazeWalker
Moved primary maze file structure to XML
Added support for curved walls
Added 4k resolution option
Added Options to fix X and Z locations independently
Added ability to use object as a MazeWalker avatar
Added MazePoint behaviors for dynamic and active regions
Added MazePoint messages and exit conditions
Added support for Active Regions, a hybrid of end regions and dynamic objects
Added ability to move to start position for end regions
Added ability to adjust camera height off ground
Perspective settings are now loaded from XML files
Audio loading errors now display within GUI
Added ability to load random starting positions
Set ability to fix turnspeed to 45deg/s and move speed to 3mz/s
Improved memory performance for particle arrays
Added ability to disable gravity in Advanced Settings
Added ability to select ScoreBar behavior for either API score or MazePoints
Updated features are documented in the manual
Minor fixes

 

Major New Version Release (v2.7)

Posted 06/06/2017 | By Admin | News

A major update for MazeSuite is released. Summary list of changes are as follows. To get the update, download the latest setup file.

MazeSuite Release 2.7

MazeMaker (v2.12.0.0)
New large canvas: Maze editable area expanded beyond screen size and edited area can be scrolled left/right/up/down with embedded onscreen buttons at top right corner
Keyboard shortcuts for scrolling canvas are Shift + Cursor Up/Down/Left/Right keys (press shift key and one of cursor buttons to move at one of the four directions)
Canvas offset is displayed at the bottom status bar
Current mouse position is displayed at the bottom status bar
Ceiling Height Property added for Floor Items
Scale to be saved in double precision
Coordinate axis orientation to be displayed at the bottom right corner
Drag and drop of maze items updated
Minor other improvements

MazeWalker (v2.14.0.0)
Updated Synchronization for Physics engine
Added Support for LPT signaling (parallel port) for Maze Start and Maze End
Preload Maze Textures held between mazes in maze list to significantly reduce loading time
Optimized texture loading to speed up the processing of Jpegs textures
Fixed an issue when Floor was set to not visible can still operate collusion detection
Minor other improvements

MazeAnalyzer (v2.11.0.0)
New measure function: click on one reference position and as you move mouse distances are shown in real-time in status bar
Improvements in user interface, maze drawing, analysis tools
Various minor changes

• Documentation
Updated Quick Start Manual

Major New Version Release (v2.6)

Posted 03/24/2017 | By Admin | News

A major update for MazeSuite is released. Summary list of changes are as follows. To get the update, download the latest setup file.

MazeSuite Release 2.6

  • MazeWalker (v2.12.0.0)
    Updated the physics engine, Jump mechanics and gravity mechanics for physics engine-based behaviors
    Improvement for dynamic object kinematics
    Improvement for memory management (especially for larger mazes and high resolution)
    Added new fixed XZ Camera options in perspective to allow a fixed top-down maze navigation
    Joystick functionality updates
    Changed Skybox behavior so that the Skybox moves with you (necessary for a road-type environment that continues in one-direction forever)
    Start position New angle setting for pitch (up-down)
    New random angle setting for both pitch (up-down) and yaw (left-right)
    Maze List: next maze button and keyboard binding
    Added a toggle delay to the next maze and restart maze keys (500ms)
    Fixed an issue where MazeWalker did not correctly run in fullscreen
    Fixed an issue where MazeWalker would not properly load the previous filename
    Restored Framerate Independence during Look functions
    Removed 1280×768 resolution in favor of 1280×720 (720p)
    Minor other improvements
  • MazeMaker (v2.11.0.0)
    Start position: New angle setting for pitch (up-down)
    New random angle setting for both pitch (up-down) and yaw (left-right)
    Shrink and Expand mazes with keyboard shortcuts Ctrl/- and Ctrl/+ respectively
    Copy paste of objects functionality for edits
    Minor other improvements
  • MazeAnalyzer (v2.10.0.0)
    New point feature for calculations,
    Use the point button at the toolbar to mark specific points of interest in mazes, save and load these along with regions.
    New calculation in Export: Distance to Point or Region Centroid for all timepoints as extra columns
    Minor other improvements

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MazeSuite and fNIR for marketing research

Posted 02/24/2016 | By Admin | News

Drexel University’s Associate Dean for Research Raj Suri talks about how he is using MazeSuite and cutting edge brain imaging system fNIR device in his classes and research at LeBow to bring neurological insights to marketing.

Publication by Buckley et al.

Posted 06/15/2015 | By Admin | News

A new publication by Buckley et al used MazeSuite to study bias distal cues in spatial navigation

Buckley, M. G., Haselgrove, M., & Smith, A. D. (2015). The developmental trajectory of intramaze and extramaze landmark biases in spatial navigation: An unexpected journey. Developmental psychology, 51(6), 771.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445389/