Getting Ready for Your KINARM Lab
Maintaining your KINARM Lab
Upgrading Dexterit-E
Upgrading MATLAB
Getting ready for your KINARM Lab
To ensure your lab has enough space and the necessary services to comfortably install your KINARM Lab, please review our platform-specific Readiness Checklists:
If you’ll be doing Custom Task Programming during your training day, please ensure you have access to the necessary MathWorks’ MATLAB toolboxes, prior to your training day. Most new labs will be on the newest release supported. To check your university’s license status with MathWorks, use this tool.
| R2015a SP1 |
|---|
| Simulink® |
| Stateflow® |
| MATLAB CoderTM |
| Simulink CoderTM |
| Simulink Real-Time TM |
Development Computer
If you wish to purchase a separate computer for task development purposes, we recommend the following specifications:
- OS: Windows 7 pro, or Windows 10 (MATLAB 2013a requires Windows 7 pro, MATLAB 2015aSP1 can use either OS).
- SSD: for the main drive where task development is done – 256GB will do
- Compiling tasks is a highly hard drive bound process – a faster hard drive will make a significant difference to compile times
- Additional regular HD for data (e.g. 1-2 TB)
- CPU: quad-core (i5 or i7)
- RAM: 8 GB
Note that the Dexterit-E Computer, supplied with your KINARM Lab, can also be used for development.
Maintaining your KINARM Lab
When you purchase a KINARM Lab, you are buying a sophisticated scientific instrument that has been extensively tested prior to shipment. We encourage our users to follow these simple rules:
#1: Keep the computers “clean”.
The computers that form part of the KINARM control system have been set up to ensure robust, reliable operation of your Lab. Changing settings on these computers can adversely affect the performance of the KINARM Lab and may void the warranty. Please be sure that all users and administrators of a KINARM Lab, including the IT department if applicable, are aware of the following:
- User Accounts:
- The Dexterit-E Computer requires a Windows User Login with Administrative privileges. BKIN strongly recommends that this account be a Windows Local User account.
- Advise your IT administrator that the Dexterit-E computer CANNOT be added to your Windows Domain (usually this is done by a local area network administrator).
- Note: there are no restrictions on number of accounts, nor names or passwords on these accounts.
- Windows OS Settings: None of the settings that are part of the Windows Operating System should be changed without express consent from BKIN Technologies, as this could adversely affect the performance of the KINARM Lab. Examples of settings that should NOT be changed include:
- Windows Security settings
- Windows Performance settings
- Screen saver
- Video driver updates
- Third Party Applications: Other than MATLAB and their required compilers, no other software should be installed on the Dexterit-E computer, such as:
- virus scanners (all systems are shipped with installed virus scanning software with settings to ensure it does not interrupt operation of your lab)
- firewalls
- remote administration software
- overclocking or power management software
- back-up software (unless configured in accordance with Dexterit-E User Guide, Section 3.11)
#2: Control who uses your KINARM Lab.
Remember that your KINARM is a sophisticated (and expensive!) piece of instrumentation. All users in your lab should have mandatory training on the lab to ensure they know how to use it properly. The KINARM Operator Guide is good place for a new user to start. We encourage you to exercise control over who has access to your lab. This control should also extend to persons outside of your lab, including the University IT department.
If you are installing your Lab or maintaining it please follow our User Guides.
If you need to replace a component, especially your Dexterit-E/GUI or Robot/real-time computer, please contact us first: support@bkintechnologies.com
If you wish to purchase a separate computer for task development purposes, we recommend the following specifications:
- OS: Windows 7 pro. Do not purchase Windows 10 as this OS will NOT work with MathWorks’ MATLAB 2013a .
- SSD: for the main drive where task development is done – 256GB will do
- Additional regular HD for data (e.g. 1-2 TB)
- CPU: quad-core (i5 or i7)
- RAM: 8 GB
| R2013a | R2015a SP1 | Toolboxes to purchase (per 2018 naming convention) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Simulink® | Simulink® | Simulink® | |
| Stateflow® | Stateflow® | Stateflow® | |
| MATLAB CoderTM | MATLAB CoderTM | MATLAB CoderTM | |
| Simulink CoderTM | Simulink CoderTM | Simulink CoderTM | |
| xPC Target TM | Simulink Real-Time TM | Simulink Real-Time TM |
Installing Dexterit-E Updates
Dexterit-E is installed on the Dexterit-E computer. Multiple instances of major or minor releases (e.g. 3.0 or 3.7) of Dexterit-E may exist on the computer and will not interact with each other. However during the installation of a patch release (e.g. 3.6.3), former patches of the same minor release (e.g. 3.6.2) will be overwritten.
Prior to installing a new version of Dexterit-E, please consult the release notes for any considerations that may influence your decision to upgrade. Key factors to be consider:
• changes to supported hardware
• changes to supported OS versions for the Robot Computer
• changes to KINARM Standard Test analysis results
• changes to the Task Development Kit that may affect Custom Task development
Please see the current Dexterit-E Guide for full instructions.
Supported Computers
Dexterit-E is only supported to run on computers supplied by BKIN Technologies. While older computer
systems may work, the following computers have been tested for Dexterit-E 3.7:
• Dexterit-E Computer (previously the “GUI Computer”) – PN 10885 or greater
• Robot Computer (previously the “Real-time Computer”) – PN 10884 or greater
If you have an older, or a non-part numbered computer, you may have to upgrade your computer to work
properly with this release (please contact BKIN Technologies for assistance).
NOTE: Dexterit-E 3.7 is the last version of Dexterit-E that will be supported to run on Dexterit-E computer
10885 and Windows XP.
Post Installation Activities
Re-Analyzing KINARM Standard Test Results
Each of version of Dexterit-E provides improvements to the analysis results of KST. These improvements include updates to the raw analysis parameters, the normative models (i.e. Z-scores) and overall scores (i.e. Task Score and M-score). To take advantage of these improvements:
all KST analysis results should be re-exported
all KST reports should be re-generated
In both cases, exporting a new CSV file of KST analysis results or re-generating a report will automatically re-analyze the data.
Please see the release notes for details on the most recent updates, and see Appendix F – KST Versions for a complete history of all version changes.
Updating Custom Tasks
Each minor release of Dexterit-E is only compatible with Custom Tasks that were compiled with the associated version of the Task Development Kit (note: patch updates to Dexterit-E do not require an additional re-compile, for example tasks compiled with TDK 3.6.1 will run with Dexterit-E 3.6.1, 3.6.2, etc). Therefore, Custom Tasks will only need to be re-compiled when updating to a new minor version (e.g. Dexterit-E 3.5.x to 3.6.x).
In addition, new features in Dexterit-E may require modifications to the Custom Task code (depending on which version of Dexterit-E to code is being updated from). Please see the release notes for changes related to the latest version of Dexterit-E, and the Creating Task Programs for Dexterit-E user guide for complete details on all versions of Dexterit-E.
Upgrading MATLAB
If you are updating your version of MATLAB, please refer to the Custom Task Program Guide and follow this checklist:
Confirm that BKIN supports the version of MATLAB.We currently support:
| MATLAB Release | Supporter C/C++ Compilers | Supported Dexterit-E Versions |
|---|---|---|
| R2007b* | Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 (SP6) Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition Open Watcom 1.3 |
2.2 to 3.5 (Dexterit-E 3.5 is the last version to support R2007b) |
| R2010a** | Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition Open Watcom 1.8 |
3.0 to 3.6 (Dexterit-E 3.6 is the last version to support R2010a) |
| R2013a (64bit)** | Microsoft Windows SDK 7.1 | 3.4 or greater |
| R2015a SP1 (64bit)** | Microsoft Windows SDK 7.1 | 3.6 or greater |
* MATLAB R2007b requires a patch to work properly. See Section 2.4 of the Creating Custom Task Programs Guide – “MATLAB®, Simulink® and xPC TargetTM for more details. Support for MATLAB R2007b will be dropped in future versions of Dexterit-E.
** The NI PCI-6229 card in KINARM Labs manufactured from 2010 onwards is only supported with MATLAB R2010a or higher.
Refer to the Custom Task Programming Guide to see what extra steps are required to set-up MATLAB
Ensure your MATLAB path points to the TDK directory for the version of Dexterit-E you are using
Refer to the Custom Task Programming Guide to ensure you have the proper C++ compiler installed (Microsoft or Watcom) and make sure to configure the installer to use in ‘xpcexplr’
Rebuild all of your tasks
Determine the upgrade path for the boot option for the robot computer
For R2010a, R2013a: Right click on the shortcut for starting MATLAB and open the Compatibility tab. Check ‘Run this program as an administrator’
Determine the Appropriate Upgrade Path for the Robot Computer:
Method 1:
Look for a BKIN Part Number (PN) Label on the Robot Computer (a.k.a. Real-Time Computer)
1. PN 10884 or no part number:
a. choose the “Create Bootable CD” option
2. PN 11103 or 13107
a. choose the “Upgrade Hard-drive Boot Image” option if you would like to continue to boot from the hard-drive
b. choose the “Create Bootable CD” option if you would like the option to switch quickly from one version to another.
Method 2:
-
- Remove any CD/DVDs from the Robot Computer
- Re-start the Robot Computer
- Look at the Robot Computer’s display. Does it boot to xPC Target?
a. Yes – choose the “Upgrade Hard-drive Boot Image” option
b. No – choose the “Create Bootable CD” option
Create Bootable CD:
- Download the correct ISO image from the downloads section of this page:
a. Robot computer PN 10884 and earlier:
i. xPC 4.3 separate network card – MATLAB R2010a
ii. xPC 5.4 separate network card – MATLAB R2013a
iii. SLRT 6.2 separate network card – MATLAB R2015a SP1
b. Robot computer PN 11103:
i. xPC 4.3 integrated network card – MATLAB R2010a
ii. xPC 5.4 integrated network card – MATLAB R2013a
iii. SLRT 6.2 integrated network card – MATLAB R2015a SP1
c. Robot computer PN 13107:
i. xPC 5.4 integrated network card – MATLAB R2013a
ii. SLRT 6.2 integrated network card – MATLAB R2015a SP1
- Burn the image to a CD (see instructions below for “Follow these steps to burn an ISO image to CD/DVD”)
- Insert CD into the Robot Computer
- Double-tap the scroll-lock key to switch the KVM to the robot computer (i.e., to be able to watch the boot process for this first time).
- Re-start the Robot Computer
a. If the computer fails to boot to the CD/DVD, check the BIOS settings on the computer to ensure that the CD/DVD drive is in the boot order.
b. Re-boot the computer. Press DEL to enter Setup mode for the BIOS.
c. Ensure that CDROM is chosen as the First Boot Device
i. 10884 and 11103 – Select Advanced BIOS Features
ii. 13107 – Select Boot Menu and look under Boot Option Priorities
d. Save the changes and exit the BIOS.
Upgrade Hard-Drive Boot Image:
- Download the xPC migration tool 5.4 & 6.2 image from the downloads section of this page
- Burn the image to a CD (see instructions below for “Follow these steps to burn an ISO image to CD/DVD”
- Insert CD into the robot computer
- Double-tap the scroll-lock key to switch the KVM to the robot computer (i.e., to be able to watch the boot process for this first time).
- Re-start the computer
a. If the computer fails to boot to the CD/DVD, check the BIOS settings on the computer to ensure that the CD/DVD drive is in the boot order.
b. Re-boot the computer. Press DEL to enter Setup mode for the BIOS.
c. Ensure that CDROM is chosen as the First Boot Device
i. PN 10884 and 11103 – Select Advanced BIOS Features
ii. PN 13107 – Select Boot Menu and look under Boot Option Priorities
d. Save the changes and exit the BIOS.
Follow these steps to burn an ISO image CD/DVD:
In order to create a bootable CD/DVD for xPC Target/SLRT, the following are needed:
• The correct ISO image downloaded from this page
• Blank CD or DVD
• CD/DVD drive that can burn CDs/DVDs
• CD/DVD burning utility that can burn images – BKIN Recommends Free ISO Burner, we have experienced problems burning with other programs like Roxio.
Follow these steps to burn the ISO image to a CD/DVD:
- Once you have downloaded the correct ISO image, it must be unzipped and burned to a CD or DVD as an ISO image.
- Open/start the CD/DVD burning utility and determine how the CD/DVD burning utility burns images to disc (you may need to search the utility’s help file to determine where this feature is implemented). Burning an image to disc is NOT the same as copying files to disc or backing up files.
a. Sometimes the feature may be its own function called “Burn image to Disc”
b. Sometimes the feature may be part of the “Copy Disc” function in which the “source” option can be an image file.
c. Other possibilities exist.
- Choose the ISO file as the source for burning the image to disc.
- Make sure “verify disc after burning” is selected (or some equivalent option that will verify that the burn process completed correctly).
Downloads