A powerful new USB-based response and stimulus device.

Chronos allows the accurate collection and verification of tactile, auditory, visual, and analog responses along with the precise source of audio and generic analog output timing. Chronos features millisecond accuracy and consistent sound output latencies across machines.

The Chronos system provides researchers with an all-in-one solution to eliminate timing issues caused by off-the-shelf products not designed for scientific research.

Chronos as a response device

The Chronos system includes custom-designed silicone rubber keys with an over-sized activation area to ensure accurate and consistent presses and releases. Included capability to record multiple simultaneous button presses with full n-key rollover and customizable debounce intervals ensures data collection never suffers from missed responses.

Chronos as a stimulus device

Chronos is outfitted with 5 fully programmable RGB LED’s, each LED capable of >4000 colors. These LED’s can be used for response mapping verification, stimuli, or as feedback based on accuracy. Each LED can be assigned a status directly from the E-Prime Device Interface and modified based on experimental protocol.

Using Chronos to ensure audio timing

Off-the-shelf audio cards are not capable of presenting audio with consistent timing. This can introduce variability between different machines and between the intended and actual sound delivery time. Chronos provides the ability to deliver audio quickly and accurately, which is particularly important when audio stimuli need to delivered precisely as part of EEG, Event-Related Potential, or multimodal studies.

More information on this can be found in reducing audio stimulus presentation latencies

Communication with external devices

Chronos includes the capability to provide up 16 digital inputs and 16 digital outputs, eliminating the need for a parallel port when sending triggers or markers to other systems. This allows for up to 65,536 unique markers to simplify data analysis. Combined with the power of the Task Events feature in E-Prime, Chronos provides an intuitive and script-free way to develop multimodal research studies and synchronize behavioral data across platforms.

Included with every Chronos

Chronos	Microphone	Photo Sensor	USB Cable	Auxiliary I/O Cable
Chronos Device with integrated response and stimulus features	Electret microphone with removable base	Photo Sensor for use with CRT/LED/projection displays	6' (1.83m) USB Cable	Stripped 9-pin DIN cable enabling 2 digital inputs, 2 digital outputs, 1 power (5V), 1 digital ground, 1 analog input, 1 analog ground

Chronos Response Features:

Keys

• 5 buttons
• 16 digital inputs*
• Voice key
• 2 foot pedals (accessories)
• n-key rollover
• Programmable debounce intervals

Audio Recording

• Stream and save vocal responses
• Start recording at object onset OR when speaking begins

Voice

• Sound-activated response (voice key)
• Condenser- or dynamic- microphone compatible
• Configurable audio input gain
• Configurable threshold settings for incoming audio responses and recording
• Detect sound to silence (offset threshold/post-silence interval)

Analog Input*

• 3 Analog Inputs (plus Photo Sensor) with configurable onset and offset thresholds

Chronos Stimulus Presentation Features:

LEDs

• 5 LEDs with programmable RGB color values (>4,000 colors per LED)
• Assign color values as response mapping verification, stimuli, or as feedback based on accuracy

Audio Output

• Present auditory stimuli with accurate and precise sound output latencies of 1 ms (Mix Mode 1) or a fixed latency of 6 ms (Mix Mode 2) across different machine hardware
• Configurable onset and offset output thresholds per channel

Digital Output*

• 16 Digital Outputs

Analog Output*

• 4 Analog Outputs
• Generate sine, saw tooth, square, triangle, and custom waveforms

Pulse Generator*

• Generate square waveforms of configurable frequency

*This feature requires separate purchase of the Chronos I/O Expander for full functionality