Characterizing how predictive models of the environment guide goal-directed actions is a primary challenge in behavioral neuroscience. Standard rodent assays often struggle to isolate true route planning from simple habits or vector-navigation, as creating tasks that decorrelate these variables while generating large datasets remains technically difficult. To overcome this, a team of researchers at @ChampalimaudF, @UniofOxford, @AllenInstitute and @SWC_Neuro designed a high-throughput behavioral assay to isolate flexible route planning. Using the pyControl GridMaze system, they built complex maze layouts where starting positions and goal locations were fully randomized on every single trial. As detailed in their recent paper in @biorxivpreprint, the researchers demonstrated that mice navigate these complex paths with remarkable efficiency, showing rapid learning of the environment's structural layout from their first sessions. The automated maze setup was vital to collecting the high-density spatial data needed to quantify these computational strategy shifts. Read at length👉biorxiv.org/content/10.64898… While the design files for the GridMaze framework are openly shared, building a large 3x3 array of platforms with dozens of electronic interfaces and motorized connections in-house is a slow, error-prone process. Using pre-assembled, standardized hardware allows labs to transition straight to running cohorts. Now available with us👉labmaker.org/products/pycont… Image credits: Adapted from the original paper. #Neuroscience #BehavioralNeuroscience #OpenSourceHardware #SystemsNeuroscience #OSHW

To study how the brain calculates novel trajectories during goal-directed navigation, researchers need behavioral setups that can scale in complexity without losing precise control over environmental cues. Traditional operant systems often lack the spatial modularity required to easily configure multi-path layouts. In a recent @biorxivpreprint, Doohan et al. addressed this by training mice on a large-scale grid-maze consisting of elevated towers and walkways. By running the environment on the open-source pyControl framework, they automated reward delivery, sensory cues, and behavioral tracking across multiple nodes, keeping everything synchronized with neural recording equipment at microsecond precision. This automation allowed the authors to track neural dynamics during active planning, showing how medial frontal cortex activity coordinates position codes and distance-to-goal representations within local theta cycles. Read at length: biorxiv.org/content/10.64898… While the underlying blueprints for these modular mazes are open-source, building a multi-node system in-house presents a steep engineering challenge. Sourcing a pre-assembled, quality-controlled GridMaze ensures all platforms calibrate identically and work reliably out of the box- from day 1. Now available with us- labmaker.org/products/pycont… #neuroscience #OSHW #opensourcehardware #systemsneuroscience #behvaior

This #WorldBrainDay we are celebrating the engineers, researchers and open-science communities who provide accessible CAD files, open PCBs, and affordable hardware. Because "Brain Health: Access for All" isn't just a slogan—it’s an open-schematic file. It also means giving every scientist the tools to make the next breakthrough about the Brain! If your lab runs on open-source tools, tell us- ✨ Which open tool changed your lab forever? 🎉 Tag the developer or project team below so we can celebrate them! #OpenSourceHardware #OSHW #BrainHealth #WorldBrainDay2026 #AccessForAll

Investigating how neural populations map abstract task rules during spatial navigation requires behavioral setups where physical paths and environmental rules can be dynamically altered across trials. El-Gaby et al. addressed this in their 2024 @Nature paper by adopting the open-source pyControl GridMaze. This system provides a modular 3x3 grid of platforms connected by automated, removable bridges, with integrated nose-pokes and fluid delivery on each node. It allowed the researchers to program complex, multi-step state machines that ran with high-precision temporal synchronization alongside neural recording systems. This level of behavioral automation allowed the team to track how the brain represents transitions between abstract behavioral states as mice navigated changing physical layouts. Read at length👉nature.com/articles/s41586-0… @GabyMohamady, @jcrwhittington, Arya Bhomick Adam Lloyd Harris, William Dorrell, @WaltonLabNeuro Thomas Akam, @behrenstimb While the design is open-source, building a 3x3 platform array with nine independent nodes, multiple motorized bridges, and integrated sensor routing in-house is a massive engineering task. Get the pre-assembled, quality tested, reliable hardware from us-labmaker.org/products/pycont…

How do we scale behavioral neuroscience without getting bogged down by rigid, expensive commercial operant hardware? Thomas Akam and team at the @UniofOxford developed pyControl, an open-source, Python-based hardware and software system designed to simplify complex behavioral experiments elifesciences.org/articles/6… As part of expanding our pyControl offerings, we are offering the pyControl GridMaze - pre-assembled, quality-controlled, and read-to-deploy. Explore here👉labmaker.org/products/pycont… Image credits: Adapted from the original paper. #neuroscience #behavior #opensourcehardware #OSHW

Debuting at booth #80 is our latest addition- the pyControl GridMaze. Know more 👉labmaker.org/collections/neu… Come visit us at booth #80 to see the demo! #neuroscience #FENS2026 #OpenSourceHardware #OSHW

Scenes from booth #80 at #FENS2026. On display: Miniscope v4, LFOV, KineMouse Wheel, and more along with the the new GridMaze. Know more about the pyControl GridMaze👉labmaker.org/collections/neu… Open hardware expands experimental flexibility, but in-house building can lead to massive technical overhead. Come explore pre-assembled, QC-tested open tools from us! #neuroscience #opensourcehardware #OSHW

We are officially live at #FENS2026 and ready to welcome you to the Booth #80. Come to explore our range of open-source hardware! ✅ Ready to deploy 💪 Reliable & standardized 🎁Special debut: We are unveiling a brand-new tool at our booth today! Come, let's talk open science! #neuroscience #opensourcehardware #OSH

Standard miniscopes miss the bigger picture by restricting calcium imaging fields. The UCLA Miniscope LFOV expands the imaging area to record larger neural populations across distinct cortical regions. Explore:labmaker.org/collections/neu… Visit Booth #80 at #FENS2026 to explore this and more from the open science community! #OSHW #opensource #neuroscience #Miniscopes #Microscopy #FENS2026

In vivo calcium imaging struggles with focus drift during long trials. The open-source UCLA Miniscope v4 uses an internal liquid lens for electronic focus adjustments in a 2.6g body, keeping data stable without handling the animal. Explore more: labmaker.org/collections/min… Visit Booth #80 at #FENS2026 to explore this and more from the open science community! #OSHW #opensource #neuroscience #Miniscopes #Microscopy

KineMouse Wheel allows precise 3D reconstruction of paw kinematics with a single camera. labmaker.org/products/kinemo… Visit Booth #80 at #FENS2026 to explore this and more from the open science community! #OSHW #opensource #neuroscience

The Kravitz Lab's open-source FED3 brings wire-free pellet dispensing straight to the home cage, making rodent feeding pattern & motivation tracking easy. Visit Booth #80 at #FENS2026 to explore tools from the open science community! #OSHW #opensource

We will be showcasing our #neuroscience tools and look forward to discussing how reliable #OSHW can empower your research at #FENS2026. 📍 Booth #80, Fira Gran Via de Barcelona 📅 6-10 July Come let's talk #openscience! @FENSorg #OSHW #microscopy #BehaviorPhenotyping

Integrating the open-source ahoi modem into the Modular Ocean Lander enabled low-cost, low-power vertical and horizontal acoustic communication up to 1000m. Access the paper👉dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/36994… Know more on ahoi👉 tinyurl.com/ywu4w3zj #MarineScience #OpenSourceHardware

Deploying micro AUV swarms is tough due to the cost and weight of commercial modems. The open-source ahoi modem solves this by integrating low-power acoustic data transfer and ranging. Know More: labmaker.org/products/ahoi-u… #underwatermodem #MarineScience #OpenSourceHardware

How does a restored reef sound? This @biorxivpreprint uses #HydroMoth at 45 sites to track reef recovery. This study shows the power of open-source tools for global conservation. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/… Explore labmaker.org/products/hydrom… #OpenScience #ConservationTech

Nose et al. (2023) used OpenMetBuoy to prove models overestimate wave dampening in young ice. 🚀Kudos to the team for this vital research making Arctic navigation safer & weather forecasts more accurate. doi.org/10.33265/polar.v42.8… #marinescience #research #navigation #oceanography