Infrared locomotion monitoring

forrat.eu measuring frames for long-term laboratory cage activity.

A modular infrared beam system for rodent locomotion studies, with individually switched 940 nm IR emitters, paired receivers, RS485 communication and server software for live data, heatmaps, replay and export.

Request quotation How it works

Optics: 940 nm IR beams
Network: up to 20 devices
Output: JSON, charts, export

Large forrat.eu infrared locomotion monitoring frame

Measurement principle

One active emitter, one paired receiver, one clear event stream.

The device evaluates direct optical paths around the cage. Emitters are switched one by one in a fixed sequence and the receivers report binary beam states. The microcontroller sends the measured state stream to the server.

Position, direction, aggregation, replay and exports are handled on the server. This keeps the frame firmware simple and allows experiments to be reviewed after acquisition.

Continuous scanning

The optical grid runs continuously with one LED active at a time, keeping the measurement predictable for long experiments.

Large and small frames

The same system concept can be supplied as a large or small measuring frame, depending on cage size and installation constraints.

2D, 3D or no-door layouts

Choose 2D, 3D, no-door two-floor, or no-door one-floor configurations for each frame size.

Large device

Large measuring frame for full cage coverage.

Large-device renders are grouped from files named `velkeX`. They show the complete frame, side profiles, cable routing and top inspection views.

Large device angled front view — Large device - front angle

Large device side perspective — Large device - side perspective

Large device with electronics module — Large device - electronics module

Large device full frame — Large device - full frame

Large device front inspection — Large device - front inspection

Large device side view — Large device - side profile

Large device side view with electronics — Large device - electronics side

Large device low side view — Large device - low side profile

Large device top view — Large device - top view

Large device bottom view — Large device - bottom view

Small device

Small measuring frame for compact installations.

Small-device renders are grouped from files named `maleX`. They show the compact frame, optical sides, door area, cable routes and electronics placement.

Small device angled view — Small device - angled view

Small device rear angle — Small device - rear angle

Small device service view — Small device - service view

Small device product render — Small device - product render

Small device front view — Small device - front view

Small device side view — Small device - side view

Small device rear module — Small device - rear module

Small device low side view — Small device - low side view

Small device top view — Small device - top view

Small device bottom plate view — Small device - bottom plate

Hardware

Controller board, IR LED boards and phototransistor receiver boards.

The electronics are built as a modular measuring chain. The main board handles communication, timing and device-floor control. Edge boards carry the optical channels for emitters and receivers.

RS485 communication supports multi-device installations and separates data acquisition from visualization and export.

Main controller board render — Main controller board

Phototransistor board render — Phototransistor board

PCB views

Board renders and layout views for review.

The board images are included for technical review, manufacturing discussion and service documentation.

Phototransistor board PCB layout — Phototransistor PCB layout

Software

Live data, heatmaps, exports and calculated metrics.

The server application collects device streams, displays current beam states, shows heatmaps of changes or interruptions and provides data export for selected time ranges.

The flow editor can combine raw change and interruption channels into calculated metrics without changing the firmware.