Frameworks

Installation and Setup

This guide walks through setting up the RapidKit development environment on Windows.

System Requirements#

Hardware#

Teslasuit: v4.5+ (XR5 recommended) with motion capture and haptic subsystems
Power bank: External power bank for Teslasuit (required for operation)
WiFi adapter: Teslasuit should be connected to the computer via WiFi
Computer: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), multi-core CPU recommended, 8 GB RAM recommended

Software#

Operating System: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
Python: 3.10 or higher
Teslasuit Control Center: Must be installed and running before starting the application

Step 1: Install Python#

Download Python 3.10+ from python.org/downloads.

During installation:

Check "Add Python to PATH"
Check "Install pip"

Verify:

python --version   # should show 3.10.x or higher
pip --version

Step 2: Obtain the Project#

RapidKit is provided to Teslasuit partners. Obtain the project archive from Teslasuit (contact support@teslasuit.io), unzip it into a folder of your choice, then open a terminal in that folder:

cd fes_framework

Step 3: Create a Virtual Environment (Recommended)#

python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate

Your prompt should change to (.venv) ....

Step 4: Install RapidKit#

Install in editable mode from the project root:

pip install -e .

This installs the package and its dependencies (numpy, pylsl).

Verify:

python -c "import fes_framework; print('fes_framework installed OK')"

Optional Dependencies#

For the Walking FES GUI example:

pip install PyQt5 pyqtgraph

For development / testing:

pip install pytest

Step 5: Teslasuit SDK Setup#

The Teslasuit Python SDK is included in the project under teslasuit_sdk/. It is imported automatically because the project root is on the Python path when you run pip install -e ..

If you see ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'teslasuit_sdk', add the project root to PYTHONPATH:

# Windows (PowerShell)
$env:PYTHONPATH = "C:\path\to\fes_framework"

# Windows (Command Prompt)
set PYTHONPATH=C:\path\to\fes_framework

For the official SDK documentation see: Teslasuit Python API documentation

Step 6: Install and Configure Teslasuit Control Center#

Download and install Teslasuit Control Center from the Teslasuit developer portal.
Connect the Teslasuit to its power bank.
Power on the suit.
Open Control Center and verify the suit appears as connected.
The suit and your computer must be on the same WiFi network.

The framework connects to the suit through Control Center — Control Center must be running whenever you run any RapidKit application.

Step 7: Verify Hardware Connection#

Run the test script to verify the SDK can discover and connect to the suit:

python scripts/test_muscle_map_live.py

Expected output (first few lines):

SuitHandler: Connecting to Teslasuit...
SuitHandler: Connected — hardware version 4R
MuscleMap: 20 muscles loaded from config/muscle_map_4R.json

If the script hangs, check:

Teslasuit Control Center is running
Suit is powered on and visible in Control Center
Both devices are on the same WiFi network

Step 8: Run the Walking FES Example#

python examples/walking_fes/main.py

Expected startup:

Starting backend process...
[Backend] Initialising engine (hardware auto-detected)...
(5 second wait)
Starting production GUI...
GUI window shown

Troubleshooting#

`ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'RapidKit'`#

Run pip install -e . from the project root with your virtual environment activated.

`ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'teslasuit_sdk'`#

Set PYTHONPATH to include the project root (see Step 5).

Suit not detected / connection timeout#

Is Teslasuit Control Center running?
Is the suit powered on (LED indicators lit)?
Are suit and computer on the same WiFi network?
Try restarting Control Center and the suit.

`pip install PyQt5` fails#

Try pinning the version:

pip install PyQt5==5.15.10

Application crashes on startup (hardware not ready)#

Increase the hardware init delay in launch():

launch(MyStrategy, hardware_init_delay=10.0)

Directory Structure After Installation#

fes_framework/
├── fes_framework/         <- The framework package (pip install -e . installs this)
├── examples/walking_fes/        <- Walking FES application
├── teslasuit_sdk/         <- Teslasuit Python SDK (local, not on PyPI)
├── scripts/               <- Test and utility scripts
├── docs/                  <- This documentation
└── pyproject.toml         <- Package metadata

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