Vicon Driver Testing Guide

Proxy Architecture Overview

CTrack uses a proxy-based architecture for communicating with external measurement devices. Instead of embedding device-specific code directly into the main application, each device driver runs as a separate executable that communicates with CTrack via TCP/IP.

Advantages of the Proxy Approach

Stress Testing the Vicon Driver

The Vicon proxy includes a built-in stress test facility to verify communication stability over extended periods. This is essential for validating that the driver can maintain reliable connections during long measurement sessions.

Starting the Stress Test

1. Launch the Vicon proxy executable
2. Press z to start the stress test
3. Press y to stop the stress test

Test Phases

The stress test executes in four phases:

Action Types

Tracking State Machine

When tracking is active, the stress test enforces a minimum measurement duration (10-120 seconds randomly selected) before allowing stop:

Frame Processing During Tracking

While tracking is active, the stress test:

• Calls Run() at approximately 50 Hz to process incoming frames
• Displays frame number and FPS in the console's top-right corner
• Logs frame processing statistics every 10 seconds

ConsoleVicon SDKDriverViconStressTestConsoleVicon SDKDriverViconStressTestloop[Every ~20ms (50 Hz)]Run()GetFrame()Frame DataProcess 6DOF & MarkersPrintStatusTopRight(Frame, FPS)true

Tracy Profiling Integration

Prerequisites

Tracy profiling is only active in the Profiler build configuration, which defines:

• TRACY_ENABLE - Enables Tracy instrumentation
• TRACY_ON_DEMAND - Only captures when Tracy profiler is connected

Zone Color Coding

DriverVicon.cpp

Function	Zone Name	Color	Hex Code	Description
Connect()	Vicon::Connect	Blue	0x4488FF	Establishes connection to Vicon DataStream server
Disconnect()	Vicon::Disconnect	Red	0xFF4444	Disconnects from Vicon DataStream server
HardwareDetect()	Vicon::HardwareDetect	Green	0x44FF44	Detects connected Vicon cameras
ConfigDetect()	Vicon::ConfigDetect	Orange	0xFFAA00	Detects markers and 6DOF subjects
CheckInitialize()	Vicon::CheckInitialize	Cyan	0x00FFFF	Initializes tracking at specified frequency
Run()	Vicon::Run	Magenta	0xFF00FF	Processes incoming frame data
GetValues()	Vicon::GetValues	Light Blue	0x8888FF	Retrieves current tracking values
ShutDown()	Vicon::ShutDown	Dark Orange	0xFF8800	Stops tracking and disconnects

StressTest.cpp

Function	Zone Name	Color	Hex Code	Description
DoHardwareDetect()	StressTest::HardwareDetect	Green	0x44FF44	Stress test hardware detection action
DoConfigDetect()	StressTest::ConfigDetect	Orange	0xFFAA00	Stress test configuration detection action
DoStartTracking()	StressTest::StartTracking	Cyan	0x00FFFF	Stress test start tracking action
DoStopTracking()	StressTest::StopTracking	Red	0xFF4444	Stress test stop tracking action
DoShutdown()	StressTest::Shutdown	Dark Orange	0xFF8800	Stress test final shutdown action
DoWait()	StressTest::Wait	Gray	0x888888	Stress test wait period

Message Color Coding

Tracy messages are sent from the StressTest logging functions to provide real-time visibility into test progress.

Log Level	Color	Hex Code	Usage
Info	Green	0x44FF44	General information messages
Warning	Yellow	0xFFFF00	Warning conditions
Error	Red	0xFF4444	Error conditions
Action Success	Green	0x44FF44	Successful action completion
Action Failure	Red	0xFF4444	Failed action completion

Color Reference

Color Name	Sample	Hex Code	Usage
Blue		#4488FF	Connection operations
Light Blue		#8888FF	Data retrieval
Cyan		#00FFFF	Initialization/Start
Green		#44FF44	Detection/Success/Info
Orange		#FFAA00	Configuration
Dark Orange		#FF8800	Shutdown
Red		#FF4444	Disconnect/Stop/Error
Magenta		#FF00FF	Runtime processing
Yellow		#FFFF00	Warnings
Gray		#888888	Waiting/Idle

Usage

1. Build the Vicon proxy using the Profiler|x64 configuration
2. Run the Vicon proxy executable
3. Connect the Tracy profiler application to capture data
4. Zones will appear in the timeline view with their assigned colors
5. Messages will appear in the messages panel with color coding

Stress Test Sequence

When running the stress test (press 'z' to start, 'y' to stop):

1. Phase 1: Hardware Detection 
2. Phase 2: Configuration Detection 
3. Phase 3: Random Actions (various colors based on action)
4. Phase 4: Final Shutdown 

All phases emit Tracy messages for detailed logging visibility.

Log File Output

All stress test activity is logged to a dedicated file for post-test analysis.

Log File Location

Proxies/Log/ViconStressTest_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.log

Log Structure

Log Format

Each log entry includes:

[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.mmm] [LEVEL] Message

Levels: INFO, WARNING, ERROR

Log Contents

The log file records:

1. Test Configuration - Start time, test parameters, measurement duration range
2. Action Results - Each action with success/failure status and duration
3. Hardware Information - Detected cameras, markers, and 6DOF subjects
4. Frame Processing Statistics - Tracking state and Run() call counts
5. Test Summary - Total duration, iterations, success and error counts

Example Log Output

[2025-12-12 15:39:36.067] [INFO] === STRESS TEST STARTED ===
[2025-12-12 15:39:36.067] [INFO] Purpose: Test Vicon communication stability
[2025-12-12 15:39:36.068] [INFO] Measurement duration: 10-120 seconds (randomly selected per tracking session)
[2025-12-12 15:39:36.070] [INFO] Test loop started
[2025-12-12 15:39:36.070] [INFO] === PHASE 1: Hardware Detection ===
[2025-12-12 15:39:36.072] [INFO] Executing Hardware Detect...
[2025-12-12 15:39:36.190] [INFO] Hardware present: Yes
[2025-12-12 15:39:36.191] [INFO] Feedback: SDK Version 1:12:0:145507
Detected 4 cameras
[2025-12-12 15:39:37.933] [INFO] Executing Start Tracking...
[2025-12-12 15:39:38.027] [INFO] Tracking started successfully at 50 Hz - will track for 42 seconds before allowing stop
[2025-12-12 15:39:38.540] [INFO] DoWait state: m_bCurrentlyTracking=true, driver->IsRunning()=true
[2025-12-12 15:39:48.540] [INFO] Processed 50 Run() calls in last second
...
[2025-12-12 15:41:03.826] [INFO] === STRESS TEST COMPLETED ===
[2025-12-12 15:41:03.827] [INFO] Total duration: 0h 1m 27s
[2025-12-12 15:41:03.828] [INFO] Total iterations: 7
[2025-12-12 15:41:03.828] [INFO] Successful actions: 7
[2025-12-12 15:41:03.829] [INFO] Errors encountered: 0

Error Handling

The stress test automatically stops on any error to prevent cascading failures:

Common error scenarios:

Console Commands Reference

Test configuration

Extra programs

• TCP view
• Wireshark
• Tracy