An animal behavior lab built inside a converted barn uses motion-capture cameras to track the movements and behaviors of bird flocks and insect swarms. The lab, called SMART-BARN, is equipped with 30 infrared cameras that can track up to 500 individual markers attached to the animals’ bodies. The lab provides a controlled environment for the animals to move and interact naturally.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany have also developed computer vision software based on artificial intelligence that allows them to track animals without the need for markers. The lab is also equipped with microphones to record animal sounds and determine their locations based on sound.
Experiments conducted in the lab involved tracking the real-time locations and body poses of homing pigeons, starlings, and African death’s head hawkmoths. The researchers attached motion-tracking markers to the animals’ heads or outfitted them with tiny backpacks that contained the trackers. These experiments provided insights into collective attention and synchronization of behaviors among the animals.
The SMART-BARN lab provides a way to study predator-prey interactions and animal group behaviors, such as leadership, communication, and cooperation. However, the current indoor space is limited and cannot accommodate the study of behaviors involving long-distance migration or large-scale movements.
Despite the limitations, the lab has inspired the researchers to build an even larger facility for tracking the behavior of 10,000 swarming locusts without using markers. The data collected by the lab has also been used to train an AI system for tracking pigeon behaviors in the wild.
The lab’s 3D motion-tracking capability allows for close study of animal behavior within flocks and swarms, providing insights into group formation and cohesion.
