Tracklets
The field of this invention is recording motion of an animal, uniquely identifying the animal, and recording an activity of that animal. Motions of animals on a path when the animal is or can be uniquely identified are tracklets. Tracklets begin and end at ambiguation events, where these are defined as locations and times of an animal where it cannot be uniquely identified. A first animal may be uniquely identified by first identifying all other animals in the first animal's environment. Animal identification may be after the end of a tracklet. Embodiments use optical flow analysis from video of an animal's environment. Embodiments record an animal's activity on tracklets and then use that activity to measure animal health or use that activity as data for a study using animals.
1. A method of associating sensor data with a first animal in an environment with multiple animals, comprising a device or a cooperatively communicating multiple devices for performing the steps of: identifying a first ambiguation event involving the first animal not yet identified from the multiple animals; identifying a second ambiguation event involving the first animal; wherein the second event occurs after the first event and there is no ambiguation event involving the first animal in between the first and second ambiguation events; identifying a continuous first animal path between the first and second ambiguation events; identifying a unique identity of the first animal, distinct from all other animals in the environment, at any point in the first animal path; collecting, communicating, and storing sensor data associated with the first animal; wherein the sensor data was collected in real time between the first and second ambiguation events; associating the sensor data with the unique identity.
2. A method of recording animal activity of an active animal in an environment with multiple animals, comprising a device or cooperatively communicating multiple devices for performing the steps of:
[A] identifying automatically a start of a first path of a first animal path beginning at a first ambiguation event; wherein the first animal is not yet identified; wherein the first path and the first animal are in the environment with multiple animals;
[B] identifying automatically a start of a second path of a second animal path beginning at a second ambiguation event; wherein the second animal is not yet identified;
[C] observing and recording automatically, an activity of the second animal, wherein the second animal is not yet identified;
[D] identifying the first animal with a first animal identity;
[E] assigning a second animal identity to the second animal; wherein the second animal identity is an identity of an animal in the environment wherein all animals in the environment, except the second animal, have known animal identities at the start of the assigning;
[F] identifying automatically an end of the first path at a third ambiguation event;
[G] identifying automatically an end of the second path at a fourth ambiguation event; wherein the first path and the second path are both free of any ambiguation events between their respective start and end ambiguation events; wherein step [C] occurs after the second ambiguation event and before the fourth ambiguation event; wherein the second ambiguation event occurs after the first ambiguation event and before the third ambiguation event; wherein an ambiguation event is a time and a location within the environment wherein it is not possible to automatically determine an identity of at least one animal at the ambiguation event; wherein the recorded animal activity of the active animal is the observed and recorded activity from step [C] and the active animal comprises the second animal identity.