"For our research, EthoVision XT is an essential tool for sophisticated analysis of behavior as it relates to neural circuit function"
Garret Stuber, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC Neuroscience center, Chapel Hill, USA

“EthoVision software has dramatically improved all areas of behavior testing”
Joshua Matulonis, Research Foundation at Stony Brook University, USA

“Tracking software is in the forefront of scientific studies, but various software platforms are either not reliable or very difficult to use. EthoVision XT provides extremely reliable software with an interface that allows everyone to easily track animals” - Erik R. Duboue, New York University, USA

"A great tool for tracking very small insect larvae under IR conditions"
Nick Birch, Scottish Crop Researcher Institute, Dundee, UK

"We successfully use EthoVision and plan to use The Observer in practice for our students"
Marina Pleskacheva, Moscow State University, Lab. Of Physiology, Genetics and Behavior, Moscow, Russian Federation

"EthoVision saves time, perhaps lives. In effect, PhD students can do more research in less labor-intensive time"
Samuel Adeosun, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA

"EthoVision XT is a great product, EthoVision just gets better and better"
Thomas van Groen, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Cell Biology department, Brimingham, USA

“EthoVision is user-friendly and incredibly versatile: it can be used for a wide variety of behavioral experiments, across different lighting conditions (and coat colors), and can track from a range of distances between camera and subject.” - Jerome Pagani, Behavioral Neuroscientist, USA

"EthoVision allows me to track videos accurately and reliably. Now I can use the hours that I used to spend with timers, pen and paper working on other areas of my research"
Jacqueline Womersley, University of CapeTown, Department of Human Biology, Cape Town, South Africa

“This is the best tracking system for open field behavior!”
David Eilam, Tel-Aviv University, Zoology Department, Israel

“A truly useful software to understand animal behavior”
Allan V. Kalueff, Kalueff lab, Tulane University Medical School, USA

“EthoVision XT has a convenient tracking/video system with excellent data analysis options and it is fairly intuitive to use”
Diane Lim, University of Pennsylvania, USA

“Really nice tracking program”
Matt Andrzejewski, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

“EthoVision XT has allowed our lab to collect rich behavioral data that would have been impossible with our analog system”
Joshua Herrington, Florida International University, USA

“This set of programs allows for flexibility of behavioral observations, scoring and data analyses”
Craig Kinsley, University of Richmond, USA

Video tracking with EthoVision XT

Premier video tracking - and much more

EthoVision® XT is the premier video tracking system for the automatic tracking and analysis of animal movement, activity, and behavior. But it is much more than just video tracking software – EthoVision XT is a platform you can use to fully automate your research, increasing productivity and efficiency, while reducing human error.

The power of EthoVision XT video tracking

Clear experiment management
A versatile and scalable solution
Reliable tracking: multiple detection methods and setting available
EthoVision XT operates under both normal light and infrared lighting conditions
You can track live (using direct input from camera) or from digital video, or track live while recording the video with EthoVision XT
Safe storage of video files
EthoVision XT can handle large video files with a resolution of 1400 x 1000 and higher.
Powerful analysis due to the combination of multiple data selection and parameter selection criteria
Integrated visualization of tracks gives you a unique look at your data
Free analysis: perform data analysis with EthoVision XT on an unlimited number of computers
(The license key only necessary for data acquisitions.)
Noldus has years of experience in video tracking technology
Complete solutions including custom made ones
EthoVision is used in over 1900 organizations: there are 6000 users in 63 countries!
EthoVision is published in over 5400 peer reviewed scientific publications
EthoVision XT includes three year free technical support: worldwide and 24/7

Any kind of animal

You can use EthoVision XT for several behavioral experiments, on any kind of animal (rodents, farm animals, fish), EthoVision XT is a flexible system, designed to fit your research. Whether you want a cost-effective solution for the Morris water maze test, a high-throughput set-up to test zebrafish larvae, automate a five choice serial reaction time task, or conduct welfare studies with farm animals.

To summarize it: any animal, any arena.
Find out about applications for rodent research, zebrafish research, and research on other animals.

Tracking and detection

Ethovision XT accurately detects the center point of your animal (and nose points and tail base in combination with with Multiple Body Points Module) and tracks this points as your animal moves through the arena. Several detection methods allow you to fine-tune setting to match your situation perfectly.

In addition to tracking your animal, you can also use activity detection. This allows
you to analyze changes in the arena from one video frame to the next in addit

ion to movement of the animal. This is ideal to study, for example, freezing behavior in rodents.

It is also a great method to use if you want to analyze zebrafish embryonic tail flicks or convulsions.

Even in situations were detection of your animal is difficult, due to poor lighting or when using animals with a similar color (greyscale) to the background (such as white rats on a white background), activity detection will work.

From set-up to data analysis

EthoVision XT helps you out during your entire experiment, from setting up to data analysis.

>>Learn more about setting up your experiment with EthoVision XT

>>Learn more about collecting your data with EthoVision XT

>>Learn more about data analysis with EthoVision XT

Features you can use

With EthoVision XT Base you can conduct complete experiments with one animal, in one arena. For a basic video tracking set-up, all you need is the software, a firewire camera, and a computer. With additional Modules other scientific research question can also be answered. For example, study social interaction. Or you might want to create a high-throughput system and track rodents in multiple cages simultaneously. You could also be interested in automating a complete experimental set-up with sensors, lights, automatic doors, and sound stimuli. All this and more is possible with EthoVision XT. Simply pick and choose from the six different Modules and a variety of hardware components to create the solution best suited for your research.

From straight-forward video tracking to full automation of sophisticated protocols

Functionality is not limited to video tracking of the animal’s path and calculating statistics, such as distance travelled and velocity. It can track the nose point and tail base of rats and mice, enabling the assessment of behaviors such as body elongation, the interest in certain objects, or nose-nose contact in social interaction studies. The real-time analysis of animal behavior even allows you to create sophisticated protocols for the control of external equipment. In other words, you can control interactions between your animals and external sensor and stimuli devices, such as lights or doors. All together, EthoVision XT allows you to perform a wide variety of experiments.

What you get

A basic set-up of EthoVision XT consists of a camera (such as analog, FireWire, or GigE) connected to a laptop or PC with EthoVision XT installed. When you order the EthoVision XT software, you receive a slip case containing the software CD, a sample projects DVD, a PDF reference manual and – most importantly – a hardware key (dongle). This hardware key is in fact your license and is programmed to use EthoVision XT Base and any other module you might have ordered.

Of course, you can choose to upgrade your license at any time if you wish to extend your EthoVision XT system with another module. You are free to install EthoVision XT on as many computers as you like, only data acquisition is restricted to one computer at a time.