Background

At the Black Box ToolKit we specialize in helping you achieve accurate presentation, synchronization, and response timing in your computer-based psychology experiments. Remember that when experiment generators say they are millisecond 'precise' all this means is they report measures which are in units of a millisecond, not that the timings reported are accurate! We help you ensure accuracy.

We have a range of products that help you carry out the experiments that you have designed but in a much more accurate and consistent way. The gold standard for assessing timing accuracy and self-validation is the Black Box ToolKit v3. For real time, millisecond accurate, event marking we have the mBBTK v2 (event marking version). Companion products act as standalone millisecond accurate response devices. It doesn't matter what your experimental paradigm or platform we can help you. Our hardware and software is used in labs across the world and encompasses Cognitive Psychology, Neuroscience, Language and Vision research among others.

Need more help?

If you are unsure of how our products could work for you take a look at our What, Why and How pages. Answers to common application questions can be found in the FAQ section.

If you have an application in mind but aren't sure, free to email us on: info@blackboxtoolkit.com. Alternatively, why not give us a call.

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


Event marking products


Not sure which of our products could benefits you most? Take a look at our product comparison table or contact us for free and impartial advice.

mBlack Box ToolKit v2™ (event marking version)

The mBBTK v2 (event marking version) is a dedicated self-contained hardware device that can be used to event mark or produce TTL triggers in EEG, neuroscience, eye tracking and any psychology experiment or cognitive paradigm. It is the gold standard for any experiment where you need to independently TTL event mark stimulus onsets, synchronization signals or responses with sub-millisecond accuracy. All timing data and TTL triggers are logged in real time so that you can analyze performance later safe in the knowledge that your event marks were made at exactly the right time. Simple to use with a range of external sensors and intuitive software. For the ultimate in timing accuracy why not let your experiment generator handle the presentation, but let the mBBTK v2 event mark and collect RT data using a BBTK USB response pad. Compare

USB TTL event marking module

Designed as a parallel port replacement for simple TTL event marking/TTL triggers from within an experiment generator. 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 a two byte code, e.g. "01" to event mark on channel 1. Works out of the box with any experiment generator that can read and write to a standard serial port. You should note that timing accuracy is dependent on the accuracy of your experiment generator as the USB TTL Module only provides a TTL interface, but does not guarantee accuracy. If you need independent sub-millisecond event marking accuracy that is 100% reliable you should consider the mBBTK v2. Compare

TTL to USB keys module

The Black Box ToolKit TTL To USB Keys Module enables you to quickly and easily create USB HID keyboard events from TTL signals, or triggers, as an input to any Experiment Generator, or any other software, that accepts standard USB keyboard key presses on any platform (Windows, MacOS, Linux etc). It can be used in any environment where there is a need to create USB keyboard keystrokes to represent event marks from up to 8 TTL inputs, e.g. fMRI, EEG, eye tracking etc. Compare


Custom built devices and consultancy

As the Black Box ToolKit employs Psychologists, Electronic Engineers and Programmers we can offer a wide range of bespoke services. 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. We also offer an independent timing audit and benchmarking service for those who need reassurance that their own measures are millisecond accurate.

Why not contact us for a quote for custom hardware design and manufacture or about our consultancy services in order to take your project to the next level.

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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