ANY-maze Help > The ANY-maze reference > The Protocol page > The elements of a protocol > Inputs and outputs > Rotary encoders > An introduction to rotary encoders

An introduction to rotary encoders

Introduction

As the name implies, a rotary encoder is a device that senses rotations - specifically, rotations of an axle. These can be useful in at least two ways: to detect the rotations of a running wheel, and to detect rotations of the animal (by tethering the animal to the encoder's axle).

In fact, ANY-maze video tracking can detect rotations of the animal, so it might seem that using an encoder to do this is unnecessary - and in some respects it is. But if the only behaviour you are interested in is rotations, then using an encoder can provide a cheaper and easier alternative than using a camera - this is particularly true if you want to automate a lot of cages for simultaneous testing.

Incidentally, an encoder can sense both the direction and extent of rotations - thus it's possible to detect both clockwise and anti-clockwise rotations as well as partial rotations.

Physically connecting a rotary encoder to ANY-maze

Rotary encoders are supported by the ANY-maze interface (AMi) and full details of the types of encoders that can be used and how they connect to AMi can be found here.

See also:

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ANY-maze help topic T0146