Hi Paul,

I typically use ZOS-API to parse ZRD files into Matlab.  There is a sample file that shows how this can be done:

However, if you prefer to use the ZPL keyword ZRD2MAT, it is certainly much simpler, but you have somewhat less control over what ray data is parsed and in what format it takes within Matlab.  Here’s an example using the NSC sample “Even Asphere” model. 

After running a ray trace, we can take a look at the ZRD file contents using the Ray Database Viewer:

To get the data into Matlab, here’s a very simple ZPL script that parses all segments of the first 10 rays (the ZRD and MAT files can reside in different folders, just provide the corresponding complete path info):

Important Note:  The file extensions must be capitalized or you’ll get an error.  Loading the *.MAT file into Matlab shows the results:

Data for any given segment (from any ray) is available.  For example, here are the coordinates for segment 1 of ray 1:

Hope this helps…

Regards,

Jeff

Hi Paul,

I had written a user extension for a LIDAR case that adds the paths and reads the intensity at the detector. It is written in C# but maybe that can help: https://support.zemax.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500005577762-How-to-create-a-Time-Of-Flight-User-Analysis-using-ZOS-API