Yes I think you are basically on the same wavelength , pardon the pun. I have considered adding a IR led to the existing red and green bow led lights that are currently in Use. The difficulty is in finding the right combination of light source and sensor for the range and field of view.
Unfortunately im pretty new to arduino - just bought my first kit but am fairly handy at household circuitry. I think if I copy some of the existing arduino projects for ir sensors and modify it w my light and sensor it may work.
But it isn’t easy. For example this ir light should be bright
UltraFire 940nm LED IR... Amazon.com
but isn’t detected by this gate sensor
Seco-Larm E-931-S35RRQ NIR Reflective Photoelectric Sensor; For outdoors gates, garage doors, etc; Weatherproof (IP66) construction for indoor/outdoor usage; Adjustable sensing distance - Pack of 1 Amazon.com
Probably different wavelengths but who has a light wavelength meter? Not me.
So it’s really abiut finding the right available combo of light and sensor.