ArCOM('open'...)

Description

Returns a struct containing an ArCOM interface to a serial port

• Chooses the best interface by default (MATLAB/Java, Psychtoolbox IOPort or Octave)

• Creates a serial port object

• Opens the serial port

Syntax

myPort = ArCOM('open', Port, BaudRate, [interface])

Parameters

• Port: The name of the serial port as it is known to the operating system.

  • In Windows, this will look like 'COMX' (i.e. 'COM3').

  • In OSX, this will look like '/dev/tty.usbmodemXXXX' or '/dev/tty.usbserial'

  • In Linux, this will look like '/dev/ttyACM0'.

• BaudRate: The same baud rate used in your Arduino sketch (i.e. 9600, 115200, etc).

• Interface: An optional string argument to force use of a specific interface (i.e. MATLAB/Java instead of Psychtoolbox/IOPort). Options are:

  • 'java'

  • 'psychtoolbox'

Returns

• A struct with the following fields:

  • Port (the handle to the serial port, opened using the chosen interface)

  • UseOctave (0 if running in MATLAB, 1 if in Octave)

  • UsePsychtoolbox (0 if false, 1 if true)

  • Interface (a byte code for the interface used: 0 = MATLAB/Java, 1 = IOPort, 2 = Octave)

  • BaudRate (the baud rate of the port)

  • ValidDataTypes (a cell array of strings listing supported data types)

Example

% This code opens two serial ports using ArCOM, in a MATLAB environment with PsychToolbox installed and ArCOM.m in the MATLAB path. One port is forced to use MATLAB's painfully slow serial interface.

MyHappyPort = ArCOM('open', 'COM3', 115200);

MySadPort = ArCOM('open', 'COM4', 115200, 'java');