Who We Are
VPixx Technologies is a privately held company serving the vision research community by developing innovative hardware and software tools for vision scientists. Founded in 2001 by Peter April, VPixx Technologies has built an international reputation for supplying quality instruments to researchers and teachers in the fields of visual psychophysics, electrophysiology, cognition, and fMRI. Today, our team of trained vision scientists, developers and engineers continue to provide solutions for researchers pushing the boundaries of our knowledge of the visual system and the brain.
Our revolutionary VIEWPixx and DATAPixx graphics and data acquisition systems provide vision scientists with a hardware toolbox implementing high performance video, analog I/O, digital I/O, and audio I/O, all with microsecond synchronization to video refresh. Our research-grade DLP projector, the PROPixx, provides a refresh rate of up to 1440 Hz and a fully linear gamma for precision control of visual stimuli, and is MRI and MEG compatible. The TRACKPixx3 2 kHz binocular eye tracking system is seamlessly integrated with our data acquisition systems and displays for streamlined experiment control. Scientists can integrate VPixx hardware into their own ANSI C, Python or MATLAB programs using our software APIs.
Management team
Peter April, BCompSc
CEO
In 1983, Peter April began work as a computer programmer at the Concordia University Vision Lab, while simultaneously beginning a Bachelor’s degree in computer science. During these years, Mr. April wrote a wide range of programs for presenting visual imagery as well as collecting and analyzing data. He also designed and constructed specialized electronic hardware including an eye-tracker and a graphics board for collaborative research with CAE Electronics of Montreal (a manufacturer of flight simulators).
In 1997 Mr. April developed the first version of the VPixx visual testing program in collaboration with a consortium of research labs. Recognizing that many vision labs required specialized imagery which could not be generated by commercial graphics boards, Mr. April also developed the VPixx Graphics Adaptor. While serving a growing number of researchers, Mr. April has had the opportunity to develop innovative tools in many fields, including an optical instrument for imaging the retina, and a medical instrument using audio evoked potentials to measure the level of consciousness of a patient during surgery.
Today Mr. April continues to serve his clients, meets with researchers at international conferences, and leads VPixx Technologies in its quest to create innovative tools for the scientific community.
Jean-François Hamelin, Eng
Vice President
In 2001, Mr. Hamelin graduated from Montreal’s École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) with a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. In 2009, as a new shareholder of the company, Mr. Hamelin contributed to the design and production of the new generation of VPixx products. He brought to the company a strong background in quality control as well as electrical and mechanical design, which he acquired while working in the avionics sector between 2001 and 2009.
Today, Mr. Hamelin leads the VPixx Technologies manufacturing department and is responsible for the hardware design of current and future tools to be used by the scientific community.
