Device Overview

The WILD device is a Wireless, Interactive, Lightweight Datalogger: an ultra-lightweight multimodal neurologger for freely behaving animals. The device combines local neural data logging, auxiliary sensing, onboard processing, BLE configuration and status, synchronization, and responsive stimulation.

The WILD device is not a BLE telemetry system. High-bandwidth neural data are recorded locally to microSD; wireless links are used for discovery, configuration, synchronization, status, low-bandwidth preview, and online control commands.

The device is best understood as a head-mounted acquisition and control unit. Neural acquisition, auxiliary sensing, embedded processing, microSD storage, external I/O, and optional stimulation are handled on the device; the host computer or controller supports setup, timing coordination, status review, selected preview, command delivery, and export.

Functional Blocks

flowchart TB
  Probe[Neural probe] --> AFE[Analog front end]
  Sensors[IMU, audio, camera, digital inputs] --> MCU[MCU and embedded DSP]
  AFE --> MCU
  MCU --> SD[microSD storage]
  MCU --> BLE[BLE control, sync, status, preview]
  MCU --> ExtIO[External IO sync and control]
  MCU --> USB[USB setup and bench streaming]
  MCU --> Stim[Stimulation outputs]
  SD --> Analysis[MATLAB, Python, spike sorting]

Device Interfaces

Interface	Public documentation focus
Neural input	Standard 64-channel connector workflows and WILD flexible-probe workflows.
Local storage	Full-resolution neural, IMU, audio, camera, and event data are recorded to microSD.
Wireless control	BLE supports discovery, configuration, synchronization support, status checks, selected preview, and commands.
External I/O	Sync and control lines connect WILD devices with cameras, behavior systems, stimulation modules, and multi-device sessions.
Bench setup	USB and wired interfaces can support setup and validation workflows when high-bandwidth local monitoring is needed.

USB-GPIO Board

The USB-GPIO board exposes four external I/O lines and a USB connection for synchronization and validation workflows. Use it when checking camera triggers, behavioral-system events, stimulation-control lines, or multi-device timing before animal recordings.

Current Public Scope

• The current open-source WILD device release is the 64-channel local-storage neurologger workflow.
• Higher-performance Neuropixels-compatible and active-SPI-probe workflows are separate research and variant targets.
• Multi-device experiments use explicit synchronization workflows rather than BLE timestamps alone.
• Mass is configuration-dependent; report device-only mass, probe or module mass, battery mass, and complete implant mass separately.

Core Specifications

Category	Current WILD specification
Neural channels	64
Device mass	Approximately 1.5 g for the logger board, configuration-dependent
Board dimensions	23.3 x 15.7 mm
MCU	Cortex-M4 class MCU for acquisition, embedded DSP, TinyML scheduling, and device control
Power input	Use release-specific approved battery options; internal rails are generated by a converter/regulator chain
Sampling rates	1,250-20,000 Hz
ADC resolution	16-bit electrophysiology and microphone data; 10-bit camera data
Storage	microSD, Class 10 or better; low-power endurance cards are preferred
Recommended cards	Samsung EVO older orange U1 generation or tested Lexar cards
BLE	Control link for discovery, synchronization support, status, selected preview, and low-bandwidth commands
IMU	BMX160, up to 500 Hz
USV microphone	SPH6611LR5H, approximately 1-80 kHz bandwidth
Camera	NanEye-C, 320 x 320 px, 16 FPS, 10-bit
Stimulation	Optional two-channel laser-diode stimulation module based on TPS6115x

Supported Modalities

• Local neural electrophysiology recording.
• Responsive closed-loop stimulation from onboard detection.
• IMU sensing and sensor fusion.
• Ultrasonic vocalization audio through ADC data.
• Head-mounted camera data through misc.dat.
• Digital input and synchronization signals.
• External I/O for synchronization, stimulation control, and integration with behavioral equipment.