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To set up your Evoke system, complete the following procedures:.

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• Check Pulsar firmware
• Ensure Pulsars are fully charged
• Keep marker LEDs enabled while charging

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Check Pulsar firmware

Check the firmware for your Vicon hardware when you first set up your Evoke system and periodically afterwards.

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1. Connect the Pulsars to the PC via USB, either by using the supplied recharging dock or directly, using USB cable(s).
2. From the Windows Start menu, click Vicon, then Vicon Pulsar Reprogramming Tool.

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3. In the Pulsar Reprogramming Tool window, click Target Firmware and select the firmware file to update to.

   

4. Before you update, ensure you have closed any other Vicon applications that you may have opened.
5. To update to the selected firmware version, click OK.

6. When the firmware has been updated, reboot the Pulsars, either by unplugging them or by turning off the recharging dock.

   Tip
   : If at any time, the Pulsars' settings become corrupted (for example, if the Pulsars become unresponsive and don't connect to the system), in the Options section, select Reset to factory default settings to reset them.

For information on updating firmware for cameras and Beacons, see Update camera firmware.

Ensure Pulsars are fully charged

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If a Pulsar's status light appears pink or red, the battery is less than 20% charged.

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• Recharge time to 80%: 1 hr (max)
• Recharge time to 100%: 3 hr (max)

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KeepmarkerLEDsenabledwhilecharging KeepmarkerLEDsenabledwhilecharging

Keep marker LEDs enabled while charging

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Evoke can configure Pulsars to keep their IR marker LEDs on while charging. This may be useful if you're using a backpack PC as a power source. The default behavior is to turn off marker LEDs while charging.

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Info

Note When you have finished setting up your system, you can save your current settings by clicking System Settings , to the right of the top menu bar, and then selecting Manage and clicking the Save button. The next time you need to reload your settings, you can select the saved configuration by clicking the relevant option on the System Settings menu. See also Auto save in the Vicon Evoke Reference Guide.

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For best performance in VR, choose the High performance plan (or a plan created from the High Performance plan).

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EnsureOptimalLatency EnsureOptimalLatency

Ensure optimal latency

To ensure optimal latency for all scenarios, be sure to use Low Jitter Mode:

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Turn on the Beacon and enable pairing

Note that if the Pulsars are already paired to the correct Beacon, you can skip these pairing steps.

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1. Ensure that the Beacon is connected to a powered PoE switch and that this switch is connected to the host PC running Evoke.

2. Turn on the Beacon. In Evoke, on the System panel, a Beacon is displayed in the Connectivity section. Check that the Beacon connection status is green.

   Tip: With Firmware 808 onwards, the sync source device will appear in bold in the list of devices so it can easily be identified.

   

   1. To perform a radio scan to check which Beacon channels are clear from interference from other radio devices and Wi-Fi, right-click the Beacon and select Radio Channels.

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      The Radio Channels dialog box shows the signal strength of the currently available channels.

      

      The numbers on the left of the chart represent the signal strength in decibels.The channel numbers along the bottom of the chart are buttons that enable you to select the channel. The yellow warning triangles alert you that the channel above is in use (for more information, hover the mouse pointer over the icon). The light blue bars indicate the average power for each channel and the gray bars indicate the maximum power.

      In the bars for each channel, the white line represents the last sample taken.

      Note: All Pulsars connected to the Beacon are temporarily disconnected while scanning is in progress as the Beacon can't scan channels and broadcast sync at the same time.

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3. Select a channel in one of the following ways:

   • In the Radio Channels dialog box, click a channel number at the bottom of the chart to select the relevant channel

     ; or

   • In the System panel, ensure the Beacon is still selected and in the Radio section below, click in the Radio Channel field and select an appropriate channel.

     

     If you choose a channel that is already in use, the Beacon does not turn on sync broadcasts and a warning is displayed.

4. With the Beacon still selected, right-click on it and then click Radio Pairing.

5. In the Radio Pairing dialog box, click the Start Pairing button for the selected Beacon.

   Pairing mode is enabled, which means that the Beacon is available for pairing and any unpaired Pulsar that is turned on (see Pair Pulsars with a Beacon) will try to connect to it.

6. To specify which pairing requests are accepted, in the Radio Host section at the top of the dialog box, select or clear Allow List Enabled for the required Beacon:

   

   • If the allow list is not enabled, all pairing requests are accepted.

   • If the allow list is enabled, only Pulsars on the allow list are accepted.

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     Other Pulsars are refused, but are displayed in the Radio Pairing dialog box so you can choose to accept the request.

     To add one or more selected Pulsars to the selected radio host allow list, right-click the Pulsar(s) and then click Add to <host name> allow list. The Pulsars on the allow list are now accepted.

     In the case of pairing requests, pairing must also be started to enable the Pulsar to connect.

   Tip
   : Pairing/connection requests persist until you exit Evoke. If a Pulsar fails to connect, check its physical status. Evoke only knows about the last communicated status of the Pulsar, which may now be out-of-date.

   For more information about the symbols displayed in the Radio Pairing dialog box and how to move Pulsars to and from radio hosts and their allow lists, see About the Radio Pairing dialog box.

7. In the System panel, check that no warnings are displayed next to the Beacon.

About the Radio Pairing dialog box

At the top of the Radio Pairing dialog box, the Radio Host list shows the number of clusters connected to and paired with the radio host, and enables you to choose whether the allow list for the selected Beacon is enabled.

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At the bottom of the Radio Pairing dialog box, the Unassigned Clusters section lists connection or pairing requests, and unpaired Pulsars. This list persists for the lifetime of the application session. To add Pulsars in this list to to the selected radio host's allow list, right-click on the Pulsar(s) and then click Add to Host <hostname> allow list.

Load balancing between hosts

The number of clusters connected to each Beacon must be balanced. If too many clusters are connected to one host then connection stability is reduced, and the time required to send commands to all clusters increases.

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After load balancing, you may find a number of clusters on one host's allow list are paired to a different host. To remove these clusters from the allow list, right-click on the cluster(s) and then click Clean Host <host name> allow list.

Pair Pulsars with a Beacon

After you have turned on a Beacon and made sure it is available for pairing, you can pair Pulsars to it.

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• Unpair Pulsars from a Beacon
• Transfer Pulsars between Beacons

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Unpair Pulsars from a Beacon

You can unpair Pulsars from a Beacon either by pressing the power button on the Pulsar or (for Pulsars that are connected to Evoke), from within Evoke.

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1. Power off the relevant Pulsar with a long press on the power button.
2. Press the power button again to turn on the Pulsar, then double-press within 2 seconds after booting up.

The Pulsar is now unpaired from the Beacon.

Unpair from within Evoke

To unpair Pulsars that are connected to Evoke:

1. In Evoke, go to the System panel, ensure the Beacon is selected, right-click on it and then click Radio Pairing.
2. In the Radio Pairing dialog box, go to the Assigned Clusters list, right-click on one or more selected Pulsars and and then select Unpair.

The selected Pulsars are unpaired from the selected Beacon.

Transfer Pulsars between Beacons

You can transfer a Pulsar between Beacons from within Evoke if:

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1. Connect the Pulsars that you want to transfer to the PC via USB, either by using the supplied recharging dock or directly, using USB cable(s).
2. From the Windows Start menu, click Vicon, then Vicon Pulsar Reprogramming Tool.
3. In the Pulsar Reprogramming Tool window:
   1. Select Pair to a Beacon with Radio Host ID.
   2. In the adjacent field, enter the ID that you noted earlier.

   The Pulsars are paired to the new Beacon and rebooted.

   When they are ready to be unplugged, their status lights blink.

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Enable Evoke to track Pulsars and props

Both smart objects and basic objects define a pattern of markers that Evoke can locate from camera centroid detections.

Create smart objects

A smart object is the representation in Evoke of a type of object that has programmable active markers (eg, a Pulsar). Pulsars are smart in that they communicate with the Evoke PC via a Beacon. This enables a Pulsar to set its marker pattern, sync to the Viper cameras and report its battery level back to the PC.

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Manage your tracking configuration

When you have finished setting up your smart objects and basic objects, you can save the whole tracking configuration (including all basic and smart objects) in MCP format for future use.

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1. Position your cameras around the volume, ensuring that two or more cameras can see every point in the volume in which you intend to track motion.
2. Place Pulsars around the floor to outline your volume.

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Check volume coverage

After you have positioned cameras and Pulsars in the volume, ensure that the cameras can see the whole of the volume.

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Video Preview Mode frame rates

All supported cameras can use Video Preview mode but their performance is dependent on frame rate:

• Valkyrie VK16 and VK26 cameras support Video Preview mode from 30–900Hz. At frame rates above a Valkyrie camera's full frame rate (see Compare Range towards the bottom of the Vicon Valkyrie web page ), Video Preview mode uses windowing to display the same field of view as optical mode.
• Valkyrie VK8 cameras support Video Preview mode from 30–300Hz at a reduced resolution of 3232 x 2176.
• Vantage Vero and Viper cameras support Video Preview mode from 30–60Hz. At frame rates above this, an image may be displayed but this has not been tested.Vantage, Vero and Viper cameras do not use windowing in Video Preview mode.

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1. In the Tracking panel (or for smart objects, the System panel), select the object.
2. Do either of the following:
   1. In the properties below, clear the Enabled check box.

   2. In the Tracking tree, clear the relevant check box.

   If you selected a smart object (Pulsar), in the Clusters section of the System panel, the Pulsar connection status turns yellow.
   The linked device is deactivated so the marker LEDs turn off, which reduces power consumption.

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Update camera firmware

Vicon hardware is programmed with firmware to control its operation. Periodically, Vicon supplies firmware updates to correct or improve device functionality. You apply these firmware updates to your Vicon cameras and Beacon(s) via the Vicon Ethernet network using the Vicon Firmware Manager, as described below.

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1. When you start Evoke or connect any Vicon devices into your system, Evoke checks to see whether the firmware for your cameras and Beacon(s) is up-to-date.

   If your devices aren’t using the latest firmware, Evoke displays a caution icon in the toolbar to let you know that a more up-to-date version of the firmware is available.

2. Click the icon to display more information.

   Evoke displays a prompt that enables you to open the Vicon Firmware Manager (reprogramming tool).

   

3. Click Yes to open the Vicon Firmware Manager and close Evoke. Note that you can also open the Vicon Firmware Manager from the Start menu (select Vicon > Vicon Firmware Manager).

   Evoke closes and the Vicon Firmware Manager is displayed, showing all the connected devices and their current firmware version.

   For guidance on how to use Vicon Firmware Manager, see the Vicon Firmware Manager Quick Start Guide.

4. When finished updating, closeVicon Firmware Manager.

   If you opened Vicon Firmware Manager from Evoke directly, Evoke will restart when the Vicon Firmware Manager is closed.