Open-source motion-detection software encourages innovation

Nature : To track and study how animals move, a plethora of motion-tracking tools have sprung up that are based on motion-capture imaging technology. They are being used in various ways, such as to determine how ancient fossilized creatures may have moved or to detect aberrant movements that might indicate a neurological disorder, like Parkinson’s disease. One tool, called XROMM (x-ray reconstruction of moving morphology), uses x rays to image bones and joints moving inside live animals. Another, called MouseWalker, uses a high-speed video camera to detect the scattering of light as a mouse’s paws make contact with a transparent surface surrounded by LED lights. Both are among a growing number of software tools that have been made open source and thus freely available. The hope is that researchers will take the tools and go on to modify and redistribute them and further expand their applications.