Description and validation of the LocoWhisk system: Quantifying rodent exploratory, sensory and motor behaviours

•Whisker movements and locomotion have been suggested as a new measure of sensory, motor and cognitive deficits in rodents.•We present a novel set-up, the LocoWhisk arena, that simultaneously measures whisker movements and gait.•We also present the software (ARTv2) that extracts whisker movements and gait measurements from high-speed video footage.•We validate the software (ARTv2), and demonstrate that it is reliable, accurate and automated.