ABCTracker: an easy-to-use, cloud-based application for tracking multiple objects
This addresses the need for an easy-to-use tracking tool for researchers studying animal motion and social interactions, but it appears incremental as it builds on existing tracking systems with improvements in usability and adaptability.
The authors tackled the problem of accessibility, adaptability, and accuracy in visual multi-object tracking for animal behavior research by developing ABCTracker, a cloud-based application that produces accurate tracking data through automatic and semi-automatic features.
Visual multi-object tracking has the potential to accelerate many forms of quantitative analyses, especially in research communities investigating the motion, behavior, or social interactions within groups of animals. Despite its potential for increasing analysis throughput, complications related to accessibility, adaptability, accuracy, or scalable application arise with existing tracking systems. Several iterations of prototyping and testing have led us to a multi-object tracking system -- ABCTracker -- that is: accessible in both system as well as technical knowledge requirements, easily adaptable to new videos, and capable of producing accurate tracking data through a mixture of automatic and semi-automatic tracking features.