Skip to content
English
Contact us
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

How do I automate my experiment using triggers in the Pulsenics dashboard?

Create trigger rules based on the Probe’s DC readings to automatically change controls, pause sampling, or notify your team.

  • How do I automate my experiment using triggers in the Pulsenics dashboard?

    Triggers let you create rules based on the Probe's DC readings to automatically change experiment controls, stop AC injection, or notify your team when a condition is reached. They are available to all clients on the Cloud Dashboard.

    Common use cases:

    • Automatically stop AC injection if DC current or voltage drops unexpectedly (safety stop)
    • Step through a polarization protocol by changing amplitude or frequency range at defined DC ranges
    • Adjust amplitude automatically as operating conditions change
    • Send an email notification when a condition is reached

    Important: Trigger conditions use the Probe's DC current and DC voltage readings, not CMU voltage. This is a common source of confusion — see the troubleshooting section below if triggers are not behaving as expected.

    Is your trigger not working as expected?

    If you are here because a trigger is not behaving correctly, start here before reading the setup guide.

    Symptom Most likely cause Fix
    Trigger fired but nothing changed Effect would set a value already active Check the trigger log — if the effect value matches the current control value, the trigger skips it by design. Change the effect value or the current control.
    Trigger not firing at all Conditions not being met, or averaging too high Check the trigger log to see if conditions are being evaluated. Reduce the number of measurements (averaging) or confirm the DC readings are reaching the condition threshold.
    Trigger firing too often / too easily Averaging too low, no cooldown set Increase the number of measurements (averaging) to smooth out noise. Add a cooldown period to prevent repeated firing.
    Trigger not re-firing after first fire Cooldown still active, or trigger is paused Check the trigger log for cooldown status. Confirm the trigger is not paused.
    Multiple conditions never match All conditions must be true simultaneously Simplify to one condition to test, then add conditions back one at a time.

    If none of the above resolve the issue, contact Pulsenics with the trigger name, the conditions and effects configured, and a description of what you expected vs. what happened.

    Setting up triggers — step by step

    Before you start

    • You can open an experiment in the Pulsenics dashboard (active or completed)
    • Trigger conditions use Probe DC current and DC voltage — not CMU voltage

    Step 1 — Open Configure Triggers

    Open any experiment (active or completed) and click Configure Triggers.

    You will see a trigger builder where you can define conditions, effects, and options.

    Step 2 — Understand trigger structure

    Each trigger has three parts:

    • Conditions — what must be true for the trigger to activate
    • Effects — what the dashboard will change once the trigger activates
    • Options — settings that control how conditions are evaluated and how often the trigger can fire

    Step 3 — Set trigger conditions

    Available signals:

    • DC current (Probe)
    • DC voltage (Probe)

    Comparison types:

    • Less than / greater than
    • Within a band — for example: 10 A ± 2 A

    Stacking conditions: You can add more than one condition. All conditions must be true at the same time for the trigger to activate.

    Example:

    • DC voltage greater than 2 V
    • AND DC current within 10 A ± 2 A

    Step 4 — Set trigger effects

    In the Effect type dropdown, choose from parameters that match what you can edit in Configure Controls:

    • Change EIS amplitude
    • Change frequency range
    • Change total or simultaneous frequencies
    • Stop sampling (can include a duration)
    • Send an email notification to teammates

    Example effect bundle for a safety stop:

    • Stop sampling
    • (Optional) email a colleague

    Example effect bundle for a polarization step:

    • Set amplitude to 0.2 A
    • Set frequency range to 10 Hz – 10,000 Hz

    Step 5 — Name the trigger

    Give each trigger a unique, descriptive name so it is easy to identify in the trigger log.

    Examples:

    • "Safety Stop on Low Current"
    • "Polarization Step 3 — 10A Band"
    • "High Voltage Amplitude Reduce"

    Step 6 — Configure trigger options

    Number of measurements (averaging) Controls how many DC readings are averaged before the trigger checks conditions.

    • Higher averaging reduces early firing from brief noise or spikes
    • Lower averaging makes the trigger more responsive but more sensitive to noise

    Cooldown How long the system waits after a trigger fires before it can check conditions again.

    • Use this to prevent repeated firing when the system sits inside the same condition band

    Delay How long after conditions are met the effects are applied.

    • Use this to confirm the condition persists before changing controls

    If you leave options blank, the dashboard uses default pre-filled values.

    Step 7 — Monitor and manage triggers

    After creating a trigger, the trigger log shows:

    • When it last fired
    • When it will fire next (if a delay is set)
    • Who created it
    • Whether an effect was skipped (e.g. value already matched)

    You can also:

    • Pause a trigger so it will not activate
    • Resume a paused trigger
    • Edit a trigger at any time

    Step 8 — Save and reuse trigger sets

    If you have multiple triggers that represent a protocol (e.g. different current range steps):

    1. Save them as a Trigger Set with a clear name (e.g. "Polarization Protocol — 3 Steps")
    2. In future experiments, load that trigger set to reuse the same automation

    This is useful for standardising campaigns and reducing setup time across repeated experiments.

    What successful trigger setup looks like

    • Triggers appear in the experiment's trigger list with clear, unique names
    • The trigger log shows firings and applied effects
    • Controls change automatically when conditions are met
    • Cooldown and delay behave as expected
    • The trigger log confirms effects were applied (or explains why they were skipped)

    When to contact Pulsenics

    Contact Pulsenics if:

    • You have worked through the troubleshooting table above and the trigger still does not behave as expected
    • You are setting up a complex protocol (e.g. multi-step polarization) and are unsure how to structure the trigger set
    • You need help determining the right averaging, cooldown, or delay values for your specific setup

    When contacting Pulsenics, include:

    • The trigger name and configuration (conditions, effects, options)
    • What you expected the trigger to do and what actually happened
    • A screenshot of the trigger log if available
    • The experiment link from dashboard.pulsenics.com

    Article status

    This article covers trigger setup and common trigger issues in the Pulsenics Cloud Dashboard. Additional use cases and confirmed resolutions may be added as more cases are identified.

    Tags: triggers, automate experiment, Configure Triggers, trigger conditions, trigger effects, DC current, DC voltage, safety stop, polarization protocol, amplitude, frequency range, trigger set, cooldown, delay, averaging, trigger log, dashboard