Equipment

On these pages you can get an overview of the specialist equipment that is available to both staff and students. Whether you’re an undergraduate student looking for dissertation ideas or an academic looking at what we have available to further your research, all the equipment on this page is available to use. Much of the equipment can be combined with software and skills you will find in the Resources section.

If you wish to utilise the equipment I will train you how to use it effectively and analyse the data you record. Some of the equipment is located in dedicated labs, which you will book through me. Others can be setup in different rooms and even made portable for use outside of a lab. Feel free to get in touch with me if you want more information or to book some equipment.

ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG)

We have 2 ElectroEncephaloGraphy, or EEG as we commonly call it, systems within the Psychology department. The latest is the Brain Vision actiCHamp Plus.
actiCHamp Plus at a glance:

  • 64 channel GEL based system
  • Scalable for high-density recordings
  • Powerful lithium-ion battery pack
  • Integration with EEGLAB, MATLAB®, LSL, OpenViBE
  • Up to 100 kHz sampling rate

Our second system is made by EGI and utilises a saline solution, rather than gel.
EGI Geodesic at a glance

  • 64 and 256 channel dense array options
  • Dedicated Apple Mac Pro running Netstation
  • Integration with EEGLAB, MATLAB, EPRIME
  • Up to 8 kHz sampling rate

Participants wear the EEG net directly on their head and are attached to the specialist amp which communicates with a dedicated computer. Data is generally presented as waveforms which can then be analysed in various ways, but there are also topographical mapping techniques that give you a graphical representation of what is happening.

Virtual Reality

Our VR suite currently runs a HTC Vive Pro 2 with all the following benefits:

  • x2 hand controllers
  • Wireless adapter pack
  • Multiple extra motion trackers
  • Steering Wheel and foot pedals
  • Hi-Spec PC with dual monitors
  • Immersive Surround sound
  • Large screen viewing TV

Users place the headset over their heads and through Dual RGB low persistence LCD screens, the 3D world is shown. Tracking systems allow the user to turn their head 360˚ in order to see the world, they can even peer around corners or duck below objects. Combined with a motion controllers, a gamepad or mouse/keyboard combo, users can move around environments which can simulate anything you can think of.

Data can be saved out as a movie file showing the participants view as they moved around and a face cam showing their physical actions during the experiment.

With a 5.1 surround sound speaker system, the VR suite really lets you immerse your participants in new environments and experiences, all from the comfort and safety of a laboratory setting. You can enhance the immersion your participants experience by using the steering wheel and foot pedal combination we have available, allowing them to participate in a realistic racing simulator.

We currently have VR experiences and games that cover:

  • Fears/phobias
  • Relaxation
  • Flight simulation
  • Racing simulation
  • VR showcases

There are more being added all the time.

Cold Pressor

The Cold Pressor is used to create an environment that allows for the study of pain tolerance. The equipment is basically an electronically controlled circulated water bath. Water is pumped through a refrigeration unit and kept at a constant temperature set by the researcher (usually around 2˚C). Participants then place their hand into the cold water and complete tasks or view stimuli presented to them via PC or any other medium the researcher requires.

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Eye Tracker

The Eyetracker is a piece of hardware specifically designed to follow the trajectory of the eye and record that information in a variety of ways. The EyeLink 1000 Plus is made by SR Research, it runs at up to 2000Hz (200 frames per second) making it highly accurate.

The system is comprised of 2 computers (experiment PC and Display PC) and 2 screens. You can present still images, video, text or experiments created in programs like Superlab, and record the data in a variety of ways including screen capture, video clips of the eye gaze and exported data which include fixation times, saccades and Areas of Interest.

The system can be used with the built-in software or third-party experiment builders like Eprime.

Biopac

The Biopac system is a flexible piece of equipment that can be used to record a variety of biological measures. It is very popular with third year students as it’s easy to use and allows large sets of data to be collected quickly.

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We currently have 28 Biopacs available for you to use in a number of labs, and also the possibility of using the equipment outside of a normal laboratory setting. Using Biopac Student Lab and Student Lab Pro, the Biopac can record and analyse a participants pulse, heart rate, Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), breathing and 6 channel EEG.

This can be used in conjunction with the StimTracker to give you precise event codes for the onset of stimuli.