TSE SYSTEMS GMBH

Their core work

TSE Systems is a Berlin-based SME that designs and manufactures automated systems for animal monitoring, phenotyping, and behavioral training used in preclinical research and security applications. Their core competence lies in building precision hardware and software platforms that measure physiological and behavioral parameters in laboratory animals — from mice in pharmacological safety studies to dogs in security training. They serve both the life sciences research community (cardiovascular safety pharmacology, disease modeling) and the security sector (automated training of detection dogs).

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

TSE Systems began their H2020 participation contributing to large-scale mouse research infrastructure (INFRAFRONTIER2020, 2017), providing phenotyping equipment for disease models and ageing research. They then pivoted briefly to security applications with their IntelliDogTrainer device (2018-2019), demonstrating their ability to apply animal monitoring expertise outside the lab. Their most recent and largest project (INSPIRE, 2020-2024) marks a clear shift toward pharmaceutical safety testing, specifically cardiovascular toxicity assessment — a high-value commercial niche.

TSE Systems is moving from general research infrastructure toward specialized pharmaceutical safety testing instrumentation, a sector with strong commercial demand from drug developers.

How they like to work

TSE Systems operates primarily as a specialized technology partner, joining larger consortia (38 unique partners across 16 countries) rather than leading them. They coordinated only one project — the smaller SME instrument (IDT, EUR 50,000) — while participating in two larger research networks. This pattern is typical of an equipment manufacturer that contributes specific technical capabilities to broader research programs without needing to drive the scientific agenda.

Despite only three projects, TSE Systems has built a wide network of 38 consortium partners across 16 countries, reflecting the large multi-partner nature of the infrastructure and training network projects they joined. Their reach is distinctly pan-European rather than concentrated in any single region.

What sets them apart

TSE Systems occupies a rare niche as a manufacturer of automated animal monitoring and training systems that spans both preclinical pharma research and security applications. Their ability to bridge lab-based physiological measurement (mouse cardiovascular studies) with field-oriented behavioral training (security dog systems) is unusual for an SME. For consortium builders, they offer ready-to-integrate hardware/software platforms for any project requiring precise, automated animal data collection.

Highlights from their portfolio

• INSPIRE
  Their largest project (EUR 252,788) and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie training network focused on cardiovascular safety pharmacology — signals serious investment in pharma safety testing.
• IDT
  Their only coordinated project, developing an automated security dog training device — demonstrates entrepreneurial initiative and an unexpected application of their animal systems expertise.