Development of a Hodoscope for Testing and Characterization of WCD Detectors for SWGO

We describe a hodoscope system designed for the testing and characterization of Water Cherenkov Detectors (WCDs) for the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO). The SWGO is an international collaboration aiming to build the first wide-field gamma-ray observatory in the southern hemisphere, using a ground array of WCDs for detecting and reconstructing Extensive Air Showers (EAS) initiated by gamma-rays with energies from a few hundred GeV to the PeV range. The hodoscope was developed at the Brazilian Center for Physics Research (CBPF) in Rio de Janeiro to support the design, calibration, and validation of different WCD configurations. The setup combines four MARTA-type RPC detectors operating in avalanche mode with a top plane of plastic scintillators, enabling precise muon tracking and coincidence triggering. The structure was designed to support different tank sizes. The system uses MAROC3 front-end ASICs and Altera Cyclone IV FPGAs for readout, all synchronized via a central control unit based on an Altera Cyclone V FPGA with an embedded Linux operating system. A comprehensive Geant4-based simulation framework was also developed to model the detector response to secondary cosmic rays. In this contribution, we present the design, current status, and early characterization results of the hodoscope, highlighting its role as a key R&D facility for SWGO.