ABCTracker: an easy-to-use, cloud-based application for tracking multiple objects

TL;DR

ABCTracker is a user-friendly, cloud-based multi-object tracking system designed to facilitate research in animal behavior by providing accessible, adaptable, and accurate tracking with minimal technical barriers.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, easy-to-use multi-object tracking application that combines automatic and semi-automatic features, improving accessibility and adaptability over existing systems.

Findings

Accessible in system and technical knowledge requirements

Easily adaptable to new videos

Capable of accurate tracking with mixed automatic and semi-automatic features

Abstract

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.