The Black Box ToolKit
Serious About Science: Serious About Timing



If you are a psychologist, neuroscientist or vision researcher who uses a computer to run experiments and report timing accuracy in units of a millisecond, then it is likely your timings are wrong!

It is recognized that online and cross-platform studies are most susceptible to timing variation regardless of system used. Online systems include: PsyToolkit, Labvanced, Gorilla, Testable, Pavlovia or jsPsych among others.

Timing error affects your work even when you use standalone experiment generator software such as: E-Prime, MATLAB, PsychToolbox, PsychoPy, Presentation, Inquisit, Superlab, OpenSesame and PEBL etc. Online and lab-based psychology experiments are equally prone to timing errors.

The Black Box ToolKit Ltd specializes in professional measurement and calibration products that help you achieve millisecond accurate stimulus presentation and response timing, synchronization and TTL event marking, or triggering, in your computer-based experiments. Remember poorly controlled psychology experiments can lead to replication failure, spurious results, questionable conclusions and bad science. Product comparison table.

BBTK v3


USB response pad

mBBTK v2
The Black Box ToolKit v2 is used for independently self-validating millisecond timing accuracy. It can respond to stimuli like a virtual human with an exact RT you set. All stimuli onsets and RT's are recorded along with anything else that happens. Simply compare what the BBTK v2 recorded with your Experiment Generator!
1-8 Button USB response pad that works like a USB keyboard. Also sends TTL event markers! Voice Key model available. Best of all it can be custom built to fit your exact requirements with laser cut button positions and choice of button color and size.
The 72 channel mBBTK is used for event marking in EEG, ERP and eye-tracking or anywhere TTL event marks are needed to be millisecond accurate. Independently event marks on up to 24 bits when paired with optical input, mics, response pads and other TTL inputs. Can now be used without a PC!





Presentation, synchronization & response timing validation. Independently check onsets and duration of stimulus images, sounds or event marks against responses. Tune your experiments accuracy by automatically simulating a millisecond accurate human.
Accept responses on up to 8 buttons. Turns a button press into a USB keyboard keystroke as if a key had been pressed on a real keyboard. Full Speed USB keyboard HID with 1 ms latency (1,000 Hz).
Complex real time timestamping and TTL event marking/TTL triggers. Timing critical independent TTL event marking of stimulus images, sounds, TTL inputs or response pad button presses in EEG,  Neurophysiology and eye tracking studies.





Advanced USB response pad with timer, light sensor & voice key

USB response pad & voice key

USB response
pad with slider/fader
Accept responses on up to 10 buttons with independent timing of button presses and releases together with light sensor onsets for presentation of visual stimulus images. Also includes voice key option and TTL outputs for event marking. Streams activity and all timings over serial. Also turns a button press, light sensor or vocal response into a USB keyboard keystroke.
1-8 Button USB response pad that works like a USB keyboard. Also sends TTL event markers! Standard non-voice key model available. Best of all it can be custom built to fit your exact requirements with laser cut button positions and choice of button color and size.
1-4 Button USB response pad with 1024 position slider/fader that works like a USB keyboard. Great for Likert Scales and Judgement and Decision Making studies. Also sends TTL event markers! Best of all it can be custom built to fit your exact requirements with laser cut button positions and choice of button color and size.





USB serial response pad with independent millisecond timer, light sensor & voice key. Streams activity on up to 10 buttons and all timings over serial. Also turns a button press, light sensor or vocal response into a USB keyboard keystroke for ease of integration with existing experimental scripts.
Accept responses on up to 8 buttons and vocal response via a mic. Turns a button press or vocal response into a USB keyboard keystroke.
USB response pad with 1024 position slider/fader that works like a USB keyboard. Great for Likert Scales and Judgement and Decision Making studies. Plus accept responses on up to 4 buttons.





1-5 button pressure sensitive force activated USB response pad

4 port USB response box

Hand-held USB response button

Accept up to 5 responses that produce pressure or force curves along with a keyboard keypress. 1-5 button pressure sensitive force activated USB response pad streams force data as a participant presses a button. Also appears as a standard keyboard for ease of integration with existing experimental scripts that can accept keyboard keypresses. Button and force sensor layout can be customized with each button having an indicator light/LED if required.
Simply plug into a USB port on your PC/Mac/Linux system and our response box will appear as a second keyboard. Also works on any platform including Apple iPads, Android tablets and phones with appropriate adapter. Press an external button or other push-to-make switch and a standard keystroke will be sent to your experiment. The K-RB1-4 response box is intended for custom applications where our 1-8 button USB response pad cannot be used. Up to four high quality push-to-make, or momentary buttons, can be connected via 3.5 mm mono jacks* Now includes single TTL out/TTL trigger socket for use with a BBTK v2 or mBBTK v2 (event marking version).
Simply plug into a USB port on your PC/Mac/Linux system and our hand-held button will appear as a second keyboard. Also works on any platform including Apple iPads, Android tablets and phones with appropriate adapter. Press the button and a standard keystroke will be sent to your experiment. No need for drivers, no need to recode! Works out of the box with E-Prime, SuperLab, Presentation, Inquisit, PsychoPy or any other software or platform that can accept standard keyboard responses. The hand-held response button is intended for custom applications where our 1-8 button USB response pad cannot be used.





USB response pad that streams pressure sensitive force data as a participant presses a button. Also appears as a standard keyboard for ease of integration with existing experimental scripts.
Accept responses on up to 4 external buttons, hand-held triggers or foot pedals. Turns an external button press into a USB keyboard keystroke.
Accept responses on USB hand-held button. Turns a button press into a USB keyboard keystroke.





USB TTL module

TTL to USB keys module

Consultancy services and custom built devices
Designed as a parallel port replacement for simple event marking. Plug into a USB port on your PC and our USB TTL Module will appear as a Virtual Com Port (VCP). To event mark send two hex bytes from your experiment generator. Quickly and easily TTL event mark/TTL trigger with any experiment generator via standard one line serial commands, e.g. task events in E-Prime. Works out of the box with E-Prime, SuperLab, Presentation, Inquisit, PsychoPy or any other software that can read and write to a standard serial port.
The Black Box ToolKit TTL to USB Keys Module enables you to quickly and easily create USB HID keyboard events from TTL signals as an input to any Experiment Generator or any other software that accepts standard USB keyboard inputs. It can be used in any environments where there is a need to create USB keyboard key presses from up to 10 TTL inputs, e.g. EEG, eye tracking etc. Works on any platform (Windows, MacOS, Linux etc).
As the Black Box ToolKit Ltd employs experienced Psychologists, Electronic Engineers and Programmers we have the design and manufacturing capabilities to produce one-off custom built devices for a reasonable cost or to customize one of our existing products for you. Need more production volume - we can help here too.





Basic event marking. Acts as a USB parallel port replacement to allow basic TTL event marking/TTL triggers from any experiment generator that supports a serial port.
Turns a TTL signal into a keystroke. Converts any TTL input into a keyboard key press, keystroke, or value if a TTL pattern is detected.
We can produce one-off custom built devices for a reasonable cost or customize one of our existing products for your exact requirements.





Ask yourself, are you:

    1. Aware of millisecond timing error in your own experiments?
    2. Confident you can replicate experiments using different hardware and software in another lab?
    3. Always carrying out the experiments you assume you are?
Not sure which of our products could benefit you most? Take a look at our product comparison table or contact us for free and impartial advice.


Current pricing for Black Box ToolKit products and how to buy.

Who are we


Founded in 2003 by a team of psychologists, software experts and electronic engineers we are dedicated to improving the millisecond timing accuracy and experimental rigor of researchers in the behavioral and brain sciences.

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