News 2007
New product release: EthoVision XT R2!
20 December 2007
EthoVision XT R2 contains everything already offered in EthoVision XT, but complements the functionality with:
Annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience a great success
14 November 2007
With a record-breaking number of persons visiting the booth, we look back at a highly successful annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Our prime location in the middle of the San Diego Convention Center was the place to be for neuroscientists searching for innovative solutions for their behavioral research.
At the onset of the five days conference, we were at the verge of releasing a new version of the premier video tracking system EthoVision XT. This release, which allows new parameters to be measured and with a simpler and more user-friendly set-up process, was received with great enthusiasm by many Neuroscience 2007 visitors. Ruud Tegelenbosch, product manager of EthoVision, states: "Visitors were very positive about the release of EthoVision XT R2. The new and improved features, including the new detection method and parameters such as ‘head direction to zone’ were very well received. EthoVision XT is considered the world standard in video tracking by many of the visitors."
New software update released: CatWalk version 7.1
10 October 2007
Today we announce the release of a new software update of CatWalk: version 7.1. CatWalk is our video-based system for advanced footprint analysis in rats and mice. The first version under the banner of Noldus Information Technology, version 7.0, was released late 2006 and already caused quite a stir amongst many researchers.
Version 7.1 contains a number of fixes and improvements in the software and is accompanied by a new reference manual. Both version 7.1 and the user manual can be downloaded for free from the CatWalk user section of our website. Some of the highlights are:
Recording of runs has been made robust: new threshold settings filter out noise to avoid unwanted interferences with automatic recording of runs.
Classification of footprint has been made more efficient: intuitive feedback is provided on actions taken and irrelevant features in the video image can be labeled with a single mouse click.
Data analysis has been made faster: a new summary spreadsheet contains basic statistics for parameters in calibrated units and can be exported to Microsoft Excel for further analysis.
Noldus Information Technology introduces FaceReader™: a revolutionary new tool for automatic analysis of facial expressions
4 October 2007
Noldus Information Technology, supplier of innovative software tools and integrated solutions for behavioral research, announces the release of a revolutionary new product: FaceReader™. FaceReader is the first automated software system capable of automatically detecting and analyzing human facial expressions. The product is poised to be a pioneering tool in a wide range of research disciplines including Human-Computer Interaction, Usability Testing, Market Research, Consumer Behavior, Psychology, and Education.
Build your own plug-ins for The Observer XT!
16 August 2007
Software developers can build their own plug-in components for The Observer XT with a Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK is available free of charge from Noldus Support for customers who use version 7.0 with the Video Module. It contains documentation, code examples, and working plug-ins. Plug-in components can be used along with video recording and playback. The Observer XT sends video control commands and synchronization information to the plug-in. Among the possible applications are synchronized playing of simulations, visualizations of third party data, and trial automation while recording.
Erik Meyer, leader of the software development team: "This fits the trend of our products becoming increasingly open. Creative users get endless new possibilities".
Theme experts’ meeting in Budapest on 8-9 September
10 August 2007
On 8 and 9 September 2007 the biannual MASI meeting will be held at the Eötvös University, Department of Ethology in Budapest. MASI stands for the European research group on Methodology for the Analysis of Social Interaction. Founded in 1997 the group has been pioneering in the use of Theme. Their activities were summarized in the book ‘The Hidden Structure of Interaction’ edited by Anolli et al, 2005.
Noldus Information Technology becomes Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
18 July 2007
Noldus Information Technology today announced it has achieved Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status, the most prestigious level of the coveted Microsoft Partner Program. In doing so, Microsoft recognized Noldus’ proven competency in developing and marketing packaged software solutions based on Microsoft technologies.
To be named a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a company’s products must undergo testing by independent experts. In addition, a large-scale customer satisfaction survey needs to be conducted by a third party market research organization. The key qualities to be displayed by the candidate product are high quality and full compatibility with Microsoft software. All software products tested passed the test with flying colors and on 18 July 2007 Noldus was named a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.
Watching people who watch the apes: Science Center Lincoln Park Zoo uses Pocket Observer
12 July 2007
Animal behaviorists at the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, a science center at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, home to one of the United States’ largest zoo-based conservation and science programs, generally focus on how chimpanzees and gorillas interact with their environment. By analyzing the apes’ behaviors, researchers are able to develop a better understanding of their learning processes, motivations, physical abilities, sensory adaptations, and social structure. This information can then be used to make decisions about managing apes in zoos and in the wild. However, last year’s research included an additional project on how the zoo’s visitors prefer to learn about the chimpanzees and gorillas!