The RAPT Laser Level Sensor: Preview

Introduction

Ever wondered how much beer is left in your keg without lifting, shaking, or guessing? The RAPT Laser Level Sensor has recently been announced as a ground-breaking way for measuring the contents of your keg or serving vessel. After years of development and testing, this innovative device offers a reliable, sanitary, and versatile solution for monitoring liquid levels in kegs, fermenters, and even large water tanks.

Why Traditional Sensors Fall Short

KegLand outlined some of the other methods or technology they looked at implementing for their keg level monitoring system but found they all had shortcomings;

Ultrasonic Sensors: These struggled with accuracy due to varying gas pressures and headspace in kegs.

Capacitive and Float Sensors: Difficult to sanitize and not ideal for food-grade applications.

Weight/Scale Sensors: Prone to drifting, inconsistent readings, and affected by keg placement or temperature changes.

The RAPT team found these options lacking in reliability, ease of use, and hygiene.

How the RAPT Laser Level Sensor Works

Unlike standard laser sensors that use a single-point beam, the RAPT sensor fires a whole array of lasers. This maps the entire internal profile of the vessel, providing accurate readings regardless of the liquid’s color or type - beer, wine, water, or even soda.

Key Features

Wide Compatibility: Works with corny kegs, fermenters, water tanks, and more.

Easy Installation: Fits into a modified keg lid or tank top with a simple 41mm hole.

Sanitary Design: No need to dip anything into your brew - just install and monitor.

Wireless Monitoring: Uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to transmit data to your phone or compatible devices.

Long Battery Life: Lasts 18–36 months on standard batteries, depending on transmission frequency. Powered by 3 x AAA batteries.

Practical Benefits for Homebrewers

Set and Forget: Once installed, you can monitor your keg or tank levels for years without worrying about battery changes.

Remote Monitoring: Check your keg levels from your phone or a colour screen on your kegerator (we don't believe this colour screen is available yet but was demonstrated as a feature by KegLand.)

Alerts and Automation: Set up notifications for low levels or unusual consumption - perfect for keeping tabs on your favorite brews or preventing sneaky midnight pours.

Backwards Compatibility: Upgrade older KegLand kegerators with new PCB boards for full color-screen functionality.

Integration with Other RAPT Products

Since this is a RAPT product, you can expect it to seamlessly connect and integrate with other RAPT devices, such as temperature controllers and kegerators. BLE signals can be picked up by various other devices, allowing for a fully integrated setup. Future kegerators will feature color screens that display real-time keg levels, temperature, and more.

We can also reasonably expect that the telemetry for this device will be made available through the RAPT API, opening the door to endless possibilities for how this data can be used and displayed.

Final Thoughts

This seems like a fairly ingenious method for measuring keg volumes and something that certainly hasn't been done before (at least as far as we're aware). Presumably the sensor is able to determine the empty volume of the vessel it's scanning as well as the contents in order to determine how full/empty it is?

We've got a few questions about exactly how this thing will work, but we'll definitely be getting our hands on one after they're released and will do a full review to answer all these questions and more.

You can read more about the KegLand RAPT Laser Level Sensor using the link below;

https://kegland.com.au/products/rapt-laser-level-sensor-cornelius-keg-lid-kit