Observation of animal behavior is important to many fields of research in the life sciences. Its automation is crucial to advances in animal well-being and scientific research. In the EthoVision product made by Noldus, a Windows computer is attached to a camera which has a 2D top view of a confined space: for instance a cage, pool, maze or Petri-dish with animal(s) or insects in it. The images are recorded and analyzed in real-time to generate statistics on what the animals being observed are doing. After an initial set-up, this system typically runs unattended for minutes, hours or days.

The initial setup involves telling the system how to extract the animal from the background. The user defines settings which apply to the whole of the recording period. Typically, he tries several alternative methods for background extraction, each containing various thresholds with which to experiment. It becomes increasingly more difficult to find the optimal settings.

Your background
We are looking for students who are interested in software engineering in a scientific setting, in combination with computer vision. Some knowledge of Windows XP and C++ is required.