Studio Overview

The Studio is the visual programming environment in the HMCLS app. Build programs by dragging blocks onto a canvas — no low-level code required.

Two-Segment Model

Every program has exactly two sections:

SETUP

Acquisition

acquisition start

Variables

declare variablenamecounterinitial0

LOOP ~1 kHz

Variables

add (+)counter+1

Control

ifcounter>=1000

Variables

set to numbercounter=0

IO

LED toggleLED1 (green)

Section	Runs	Purpose
Setup	Once, at script start	Initialize hardware, declare variables
Loop	Repeatedly, ~1 kHz	Core logic that executes every ~1 ms

Variables declared in Setup persist across loop iterations — their values are never reset when the loop restarts.

Interface Layout

• Block palette — left panel; browse and drag blocks grouped by category
• Canvas — centre; Setup area at top, Loop area below
• Compile button — converts block graph → compact binary program
• Upload button — sends the program to the device over the network

Palette Groups

Group	Contents
Variables	Declare, assign, and compute on integer variables
Control	If/else, if flag, repeat, wait, end iteration
Acquisition	Start/stop acquisition, read RMS, spike events, elapsed time
I2C	Read and write to external I2C devices
IO	LED control
Debug	Log messages and variable values to the Serial Terminal
Network	Set/test event flags, send commands to other boards
Headstage	Configure signal chain (bandwidths, mode, spike detection)

Compile & Upload Workflow

1. Build your program on the canvas.
2. Click Compile — any errors (undeclared variables, invalid configs) are highlighted inline.
3. Click Upload — the app stops the running script, transfers the new program, and starts it.
4. The device begins execution immediately.

tip

The op budget shows compiled program size. Stay under 512 operations in the Loop section.