User interface of the BioTracker software. | Image: Hauke Mönck
Tracking the position and movement patterns of animals – and other particles – from video or photo sources is commonly used in a wide array of different biological fields. However, researchers may want to extract positional information from very different video sources that most often need different – and sometimes specialised custom-made – tracking algorithms to work. With BioTracker, it is now possible to exchange the tracking algorithm but use the same user interface and general handling features like visualisation, output formats or video playbacks. The BioTracker itself provides a number of different tracking algorithms suitable for a variety of image recording conditions. Its main feature, nevertheless, is the straightforward implementation of new problem-specific tracking algorithms that can build upon BioTracker's core features.
The separation of core features from algorithm is not only beneficial for developers but further helps users to find the best suitable (tracking) solution for their problems at hand. With BioTracker, testing several existing algorithms – or even developing new ones – for a given use-case does not require installing new applications or learning new interaction procedures. Users with several different use-cases thus benefit from using the same look-and-feel and potentially save time as they do not have to customise their subsequent analyses to different tracking output formats.
BioTracker is a free-to-use, open-access software and comes along with a user guide and an online wiki. Further informationen and download of the BioTracker software >
