Add optional ANT Neuro EDX support by caleycaleycaley · Pull Request #799 · brainflow-dev/brainflow

caleycaleycaley · 2026-03-20T06:11:28Z

Summary
This PR adds optional ANT Neuro EDX support to BrainFlow behind a dedicated build flag.
It introduces EDX board IDs for supported ANT amplifiers, adds the native EDX board controller implementation, wires the new IDs across bindings, and documents both build and runtime usage.

What’s included
add optional BUILD_ANT_EDX CMake flag
add ANT Neuro EDX native implementation and protobuf/gRPC wiring
add explicit EDX board IDs for supported ANT amplifiers
add EDX protocol support and board descriptors
update Python, Java, C#, Node, Julia, MATLAB, and Rust bindings with the new board IDs
document CMake build requirements for EDX
document runtime usage for direct EDX board connections
add Python example tests for direct EDX lifecycle, impedance, and mode transitions
Design notes
EDX support is opt-in and does not affect default builds unless BUILD_ANT_EDX=ON
explicit EDX board IDs are used.
Validation
Built successfully:
Live device validation against a real EE511 on EDX (localhost:3390) passed:
python_package/examples/tests/edx_full_lifecycle.py
python_package/examples/tests/edx_impedance.py
python_package/examples/tests/edx_mode_transitions.py

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T19:44:19Z

csharp_package/brainflow/brainflow/board_controller_library.cs

        UDP = 1,
-        TCP = 2
+        TCP = 2,
+        EDX = 3


it should not be here, its a public enum to specify which protocol to use if device supports multiple. This one supports just one

Addressed in 1af37346 . removed EDX from the public protocol enum; EDX is selected by explicit board ID, not by ip_protocol.

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T19:45:37Z

csharp_package/brainflow/brainflow/board_shim.cs

            }
            string descr_str = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString (str, 0, len[0]);
            var ms = new MemoryStream (Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes (descr_str));
            var serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer (typeof (T));


I think it complains due to removed using above, why is it removed?

Addressed in 1af37346 .
accidental, now restored

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T19:47:03Z

docs/BuildBrainFlow.rst

+        cd build-edx
+        cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DBUILD_ANT_EDX=ON -DMSVC_RUNTIME=dynamic -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=../installed-edx ..
+        cmake --build . --target install --config Release -j 2 --parallel 2
+


why is it here? just add a cmake option and build.py option and set a default for this option properly, I dont think it requires mentioning it here

Addressed in 1af37346 .
reduced to a short note and kept the main change in CMake/build flow instead

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T19:47:19Z

docs/BuildBrainFlow.rst


+.. compound::
+
+    EDX profile on Linux example: ::


Addressed in 1af37346 .
removed the extra profile/example block and keeps docs shorter

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T19:48:23Z

docs/SupportedBoards.rst

+    board.config_board("reference_range:0.15")?;
+    board.config_board("bipolar_range:2.5")?;
+    board.start_stream(45000, "")?;
+


its too much, just one example is enough

Addressed in 1af37346 .
one concise example per language

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T20:32:59Z

src/board_controller/board_controller.cpp

+        case BoardIds::ANT_NEURO_EE_511_EDX_BOARD:
+            board = std::shared_ptr<Board> (new AntNeuroEdxBoard (board_id, params));
+            break;
+#endif


as is if ant edx board is selected but dyn lib is built wo flag it will just return unsupported board error, instead it would be good to print in logs how binary should be compiled to use these boards

Addressed in 1af37346. added an #else path in board_controller.cpp so EDX board ids log a clear message telling to rebuild with -DBUILD_ANT_EDX=ON.

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T20:33:35Z

src/board_controller/brainflow_boards.cpp

        {"eeg_channels", {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24}},
        {"emg_channels", {25, 26, 27, 28}},
-        {"resistance_channels", {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30}},
+        {"resistance_channels", {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24}},


you can put resistance channels to its own preset

Addressed in 5e6956f5. impedance data is now available through ancillary, but kept the default preset unchanged for compatibility with legacy ANT board consumers.

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T20:35:30Z

src/board_controller/brainflow_boards.cpp

        {"emg_channels", {25, 26, 27, 28}},
-        {"resistance_channels", {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30}},
+        {"resistance_channels", {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24}},
+        {"ref_resistance_channels", {29}},


btw there is no public method exposing these 2, the only way to access them will be get_board_descr, although I think its fine

understood. these are 'nice to have', for now access is via get_board_descr, fine to keep like that in this PR.

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T20:36:19Z

src/board_controller/build.cmake

+    if (NOT Protobuf_FOUND)
+        find_package (Protobuf REQUIRED)
+    endif ()
+    find_package (gRPC CONFIG REQUIRED)


dont just use find try to install it from cmake instead

or package to third_patry folder

for this PR we kept dependency installation explicit and did not add auto-install logic. build now fails fast with clear install instructions when protobuf / gRPC are missing.
Good enough?

Andrey1994 · 2026-03-22T20:37:11Z

src/utils/inc/brainflow_constants.h

    UDP = 1,
-    TCP = 2
+    TCP = 2,
+    EDX = 3


Addressed in 1af37346. removed

… EDX board - Remove EDX=3 from IpProtocolTypes across all 8 language bindings (EDX uses gRPC only, not a generic IP protocol variant) - Restore accidentally removed `using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;` in board_shim.cs (fixes DataContractJsonSerializer compile error) - Replace verbose EDX build docs with a single brief CMake note; emit FATAL_ERROR with install instructions when gRPC/protobuf not found - Collapse SupportedBoards.rst EDX examples to one per language; remove ip_protocol and master_board references; add RX-300 subsection - Add #else block in board_controller.cpp so EDX board IDs return a clear error when BrainFlow is built without -DBUILD_ANT_EDX=ON - Separate impedance channels into ancillary preset in clone_ant_edx_board; default preset now contains only EEG/streaming channels - Strip params.master_board cross-check from ant_neuro_edx.cpp (no longer used) - Add ANT_NEURO_RX_300_EDX_BOARD (id=81) as a self-contained EDX-only board with direct JSON config (4 EEG + 4 EMG + 17 aux channels, 500 Hz); no hidden legacy master board entry - Make board IDs contiguous: close gap at 67 by shifting EDX series from 68-82 down to 67-81; update LAST sentinel in all bindings Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

- Remove EDX=3 from IpProtocolTypes across all 8 language bindings (EDX uses gRPC only; not a generic IP protocol variant) - Restore accidentally removed using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json in board_shim.cs (fixes DataContractJsonSerializer compile error) - Replace verbose EDX build steps in BuildBrainFlow.rst with a brief note; emit FATAL_ERROR with install instructions when gRPC/protobuf not found - Collapse SupportedBoards.rst EDX examples to one per language; remove ip_protocol and master_board references from docs - Add #else block in board_controller.cpp so EDX board IDs log a clear error when BrainFlow is built without -DBUILD_ANT_EDX=ON - Separate impedance channels into ancillary preset in clone_ant_edx_board; default preset now contains only EEG/streaming channels - Strip params.master_board cross-check from ant_neuro_edx.cpp - Make board IDs contiguous: shift EDX series from 68-82 to 67-80, close gap after NEUROPAWN_KNIGHT_BOARD_IMU; update LAST sentinel in all bindings

Add optional ANT Neuro EDX support

48a93ff

caleycaleycaley marked this pull request as draft March 20, 2026 06:12

caleycaleycaley marked this pull request as ready for review March 20, 2026 06:12

Andrey1994 reviewed Mar 22, 2026

View reviewed changes

caleycaleycaley added 5 commits March 29, 2026 11:24

Remove unused JsonObject import from BoardShim.java

69696a6

Clean up unused ANT EDX master_board logic

bdfe97f

Finalize ANT EDX follow-up cleanup and live verification

46a3d25

Keep ANT EDX impedance compatible with legacy presets

5e6956f

caleycaleycaley requested a review from Andrey1994 March 29, 2026 12:33

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