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Build roadmap

These are the steps for building a Ratacademy from nothing. Each step links to the detailed page.

Phase 1: Plan and order

  • Decide how many boxes and racks you need (~8 boxes per control computer is a good start)
  • Get approval for continuous home-cage training and water regulation under your animal protocol
  • Order Bpods, nose-pokes and valves (Hardware)
  • Order the control computer(s) and ask IT for setup (Ubuntu)
  • Arrange lab network storage and a MySQL/DataJoint database (Data pipeline)
  • Get 1/4 in (6 mm) acrylic sheet (~6 ft² per box) and laser-cutter time

Phase 2: Build boxes

  • Cut the enclosure parts, checking the scale first (Enclosure)
  • Assemble the boxes and mount the nose-pokes
  • Wire the ports to the Bpods; plumb the reservoir → valves → spouts
  • Label every box RATACAD_<rack>_<position>

Phase 3: Set up software

  • Set up the control computer (Ubuntu / Windows)
  • Install Bpod_Gen2_Legacy (Bpod)
  • Install BpodAcademy and add every box (BpodAcademy)
  • Set up your protocol repo and the 08:00 sync (Protocols)
  • Enable the 01:00 data transfer and 02:00 DataJoint ingest (Scripts)

Phase 4: Commission each box

  • TestPokes: every IR beam, LED and valve responds
  • FlushValves: lines are primed with no bubbles or leaks
  • Calibrate the valves (Valve calibration)
  • Run a test subject for a day and check that it shows up in DataJoint

Phase 5: Run