LabMaestro Pack&Go

LabMaestro Pack&Go is a remote experimentation service launched by VPixx Technologies in 2022. It lets users upload their MATLAB and Psychtoolbox experiments to a remote server and then stream experiments to a participant's browser. Participants worldwide can access studies by clicking on participation links; all that is required is a stable internet connection. Pack&Go offers seamless integration with Prolific, a participant recruitment tool, or users can recruit their own subjects.

After a scientist develops an experiment using their own installation with MATLAB, the steps to use Pack&Go are simple. First, users must upload or "Pack" their experiment to the Pack&Go Scientist Portal. Second, they can test their experiments on their browser to ensure the study is optimized for online use. Once the study is finalized, users can publish it and generate participation links to distribute to participants. Multiple testing sessions with unique user IDs are supported. Data collection is easy to monitor via the Pack&Go Scientist Portal; session metadata regarding network performance is also provided.

The advantages of remote testing are wide-ranging. Remote testing makes accessing participants from diverse populations and special populations easier, improving the generalizability and ecological validity of study findings. It allows for large-scale data collection on a flexible schedule. Remote research also complements in-lab research as a tool for training and screening participants ahead of expensive in-lab testing sessions. Finally, remote research allows for low-cost, direct replication of in-lab studies, addressing a real crisis of replication in the behavioral sciences.

LabMaestro Pack&Go is a unique tool that offers the possibility of remote testing to all MATLAB/Psychtoolbox users. As part of the Pack&Go service, users can access a team of highly responsive scientific consultants and technical support staff. It's never been easier to take your research on the road.

End users are researchers who use MATLAB with or without Psychtoolbox and would like to implement online testing. They may be psychologists, cognitive scientists, linguists, neuroscientists, marketers, designers, or other analysts. Pack&Go supports various data collection using MATLAB as an interface.

Scientists using Pack&Go must create and develop their experiment protocols using their own local copy of MATLAB, whether it is personal or provided by their institution. Scientists can then upload their experiments to the Pack&Go server, which streams experiments to a test subject's local browser.