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A simple zone is a rectangular, elliptical or polygonal shaped zone.
Create a single zone:
1.Click the arrow next to the shapes button .png) to bring up the menu and select the shape of the zone to be created.
3. For a rectangle or an ellipse :
•Click on the image of the open-field to position the first point of the zone.
•While holding down the mouse button move the cursor to create the zone.
3.For a pie :
•Click on the image of the open-field to position the first point of the zone.
•While holding down the mouse button move the cursor to create the zone.
•Click on the end of each segment and while holding down the mouse button move the points to adjust the opening angle of the sector.
4.For a polygon:
•Each mouse click creates a point of the polygon.
•A double-click creates the last point.
5.When the drawing of the zone is finished the dialog box for editing the parameters opens:
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Name :
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The name of the zone
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Main arena :
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Check the box if the zone is the main arena.
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Border / Background :
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The appearance of the zone:
Border : color and thickness of the outline of the zone.
Background : color and style of the background ( For the arena, the fill pattern extends outside the area. For hidden zones the fill pattern extends to the edge of the detection zone ).
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Position :
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The position of the zone :
•The position is the same for all tests.
•The position of the zone varies according to the tests : the position of the zone may vary between tests. In this case the position of the zone can be adjusted for each test.
•The position of the zone is linked with the position of another mobile zone : the position of the zone may vary according to the position of another zone. You must choose the reference zone.
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Zone entry parameters :
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Allows you to configure the conditions that define the entry and exit of the zone:
•Use the animal's center : the animal is considered to be in the zone when its center of gravity is in the zone.
•Use a percentage of the surface of the animal : The entrance and the exit of the zone are determined according to the percentage of the surface of the animal located in the zone.
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In the example opposite, the animal is considered to enter the zone when more than 70% of its surface is inside the zone. It comes out of it when there is less than 50% of its surface inside the zone.
The output percentage value must be less than the input percentage value.
The difference between the 2 values (here: 20%) makes it possible to avoid spurious entries/exits when the animal is close to the edge of the zone.
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•The position of the animal's head : the animal is considered to be in the zone when its head is in the zone.
.png) To be able to use the position of the animal's head as an entry criterion in the zone, you must validate the "Detect the animal's head" option in the " General " tab of the " Protocol " dialog box.
•The zone is a hidden or difficult detection zone : A hidden or difficult detection zone is a zone where the animal is not visible and cannot be detected (example: a tunnel), or a zone where detection is difficult (example: a rung exercise wheel) .
When the animal is not detected for a period and it is in the vicinity of the zone before and after this period (i.e. if the distance between its center and the edge of the zone is less than the specified value ) then the animal is considered to be in the area for the entire period. It is thus possible to count the time spent in the tunnel or the number of entries into the tunnel.
At the beginning of the analysis, if the first detected position is in the vicinity of the hidden zone and is preceded by a period of non-detection, the animal is considered to be in the hidden zone for the entire non-detection period. The same applies at the end of the analysis if the last known position is in the vicinity of the hidden zone.
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In the example, the animal is considered to be in the zone when it is no longer detected for a certain period and the position of the center of the animal before and after the period is located less than 5 centimeters from the zone.
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The detection area is delimited by a dotted line of the same color as the edge of the area and filled with the fill pattern chosen for the hidden zone.
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•Exclude this zone from the arena and not detect the animal : this part of the image will be masked when the animal is detected. This option can be used; for example, in social behavior experiment if the area contains another animal.
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Modify the parameters of a zone :
1.Double-click on a zone in the table or select a zone and click on the button .png) to open the zone parameters editing dialog box.
Move a point of a polygonal zone :
1.Click on the point to move.
2.While holding down the mouse button drag the point to its new position.
Delete a point from a polygonal zone :
.1Click on the point to be deleted while holding down the "CTRL" key.
Add a point to a polygonal zone :
.1Click on a line connecting 2 points while holding down the "CTRL" key.
Transform (contract, expand or rotate) a zone :
1.Select the zone on the image or in the table.
2.Click the button .png) to open the dialog box:
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3.Choose the type of transformation to perform.
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