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If possible, follow these guidelines for recording videos :
•Install the open-field in a sufficiently bright place, with uniform and constant lighting. Give preference to constant artificial lighting located above the open-field in order to avoid shadows.
Avoid placing the open-field near a window, especially if the experiment is to take place over several days. Otherwise, block out the light from the window if possible.
Install the open-field in a quiet place, away from a traffic area to avoid any risk of the camera moving. Especially if the experiment is to take place over several days.
Position the camera in the center of the arena (to avoid perspective errors), at a height that captures the entire area to be analyzed. Leave enough space around the area to allow for arena adjustments if the camera moves between tests.
If possible, choose a background color that maximizes the contrast between the arena background and the animal you are trying to detect.
If the detection rate is too low or the longest period without detection is too long, it is advisable to first check the following points:
1/ Check the position and length of the rule in the protocol : To improve detection, Ethotrack filters out areas whose size or shape does not correspond to an animal. To convert a number of pixels into actual dimensions, Ethotrack uses the rule defined in the protocol. If the rule is incorrectly positioned, or if the rule length is incorrect, the calculation of the animal's size will be inaccurate and the filter will not function correctly.
2/ Check the animal's size : By default, all animals in the experiment are assumed to have a size within the range specified in the experiment parameters. If an animal is larger or smaller, the area occupied by the animal may be ignored due to the filtering based on animal size. If this is the case, you can change the animal's size in the "Animal" dialog box. If all animals are in the same situation, you can modify the experiment parameters. You can also choose a custom size range for each test.
3/ Check the arena position : If the arena defined in the protocol is not correctly aligned with the actual arena in which the animal is moving, it will not be correctly detected when it is on an edge of the arena. If necessary, you can adjust the arena position.
If the problem persists, try choosing a different detection mode and manually fine-tune the parameters until you obtain the best possible detection. You can also modify the filtering parameters according to size.
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