ANY-maze Help > I/O devices supported by ANY-maze > Test equipment designed specifically for ANY-maze > The Orofacial pain assessment device (OPAD) cage > OPAD reference information > OPAD cage configuration - Information page > OPAD program device

OPAD program device

It's usually unnecessary to reprogram an OPAD cage manually. Therefore, we don't recommend you do this unless explicitly instructed to by ANY-maze Support.

In brief

The OPAD cage contains a microprocessor which runs some software know as firmware. We will occasionally update this firmware to include new features or to fix problems, however when we do this ANY-maze will usually recognise that the firmware has changed and automatically reprogram your OPAD cages.

However, there are circumstances when it may be necessary to reprogram an OPAD cage manually and that is what this window is for.

To reprogram an OPAD cage, simply click the Update... button on the OPAD cage's configuration window and follow the instructions provided.

Details

OPAD firmware

Inside OPAD is a microprocessor which runs some software, just like a computer. This software (which is called firmware) is saved in special memory inside the device and can't be lost (hence the 'firm' rather than 'soft' part of the name).

Of course, like any software, this firmware can be changed to add new features or to fix problems. Updating the firmware in an OPAD involves a process called 'reprogramming', and this is something that the ANY-maze software can do. In fact, not only can it do this, but it will do so automatically if it detects that the firmware is out-of-date. This typically happens when you update your ANY-maze software, as together with the ANY-maze update we may have included an OPAD firmware update too. If this is the case, then, when you first run the updated version of ANY-maze with your OPAD plugged in, ANY-maze will recognise that the firmware in the OPAD is out-of-date and will simply reprogram it automatically.

Reprogramming an OPAD device manually

To reprogram an OPAD device manually, you simply need to click the Update... button on the Information page of the OPAD configuration window. This will cause the Program OPAD window to open, where you should click the Program button to actually cause the reprogramming to be performed.

Reprogramming is quick and takes less than a minute to perform.

If your computer is switched off or 'crashes' while reprogramming an OPAD cage, don't worry. When you restart ANY-maze, it will recognise that the reprogramming was not completed successfully and will automatically program the device again.

ANY-maze help topic T1210