Data Visualization

Bonsai displays data using type visualizers, windows that plot or inspect the output of an operator in real time. Double-click any node while the workflow is running to open its visualizer.

Select data member(s)

Some data types, such as ONIX data frames, are composed of multiple grouped data elements. It's often useful to be able to select certain data features from composed types either for downstream processing or visualization. To select data members in the Bonsai Editor:

1. Right-click the node.
2. Hover the cursor over the "Output" option that appears in the context menu.
3. Click the inner data member you would like to select.

Under the hood, this action produces a MemberSelectorBuilder operator that selects a single member from the output of any operator in the editor.

Note

Member selection is useful when an operator's output type doesn't have type visualizers that allow users to inspect the data in a meaningful capacity. This is often the case for data source operators which produce data frames that typically contain multiple different data features.

Select visualizers

Select the visualizer you would like to use for visualizing data:

1. Right-click the node producing the data you would like to visualize.
2. Hover the cursor over the "Select Visualizer" option in the context menu.
3. Click the visualizer you would like to use from the list of visualizers.

At this point, the visualizer should open when the workflow is started.

Note

If you don't see data in the visualizer, check that:

• The device from which you are trying to read is enabled.
• The conditions required for the operator to produce data are met. Some operators only produce data in response to external events, rather than at a fixed rate. For example, the DigitalInput operator, when no sample rate is configured, only produces data when the digital port status changes state. Similarly, the TS4231V1PositionData operator only produces data when the TS4231 receivers are within range of the lighthouse transmitters.

Tip

Visualizers can be selected while the workflow is running which is helpful for more quickly trying different visualizer options in succession if you are unsure about which one you want to use.

Configure visualizers

Some visualizers, in particular those that involve plots, allow additional configuration. Right-click the visualizer window to gain access to configuration options.

For example, the MatVisualizer allows configuration of:

• X and Y scale: click to toggle between "auto" and fixed values.
• Channel view: click the grid square to toggle between superimposed or separate
• History Length: click the arrow and configure the number of samples displayed in the plot.
• Display Previous: click the arrow and configure the amount of buffers displayed in the plot.
• Channel Offset: click the arrow and configure the Y offset.
• Channels per Page: click the arrow and configure the amount of channels displayed per visualizer page. The page number is displayed at the top of the visualizer. Move between pages by using the PageUp and PageDn keys on the keyboard.

Tip

For other data visualization options, additional visualizers are available as standalone operators and can be found in the Bonsai.Design.Visualizers package. These visualizer operators must be connected to an operator that produces a sequence of compatible data. The visualizer window can be opened by double-clicking the visualizer node instead of the preceding data node.

Next steps

Find and run an example workflow for your particular hardware in the Data Acquisition Quick Start. After that, check out the Tutorials.