← Capabilities

Behavior Classification

Automated classification of grooming, rearing, and user-defined behaviors

ML classifiers label behaviors frame-by-frame with temporal smoothing — replace hours of manual ethogram scoring with reproducible automated annotation.

Behavior Classification
Framelevel
Classification resolution
Weighted
Temporal smoothing
Custom
Classifier training supported
Reproducible
Deterministic scoring
The problem

Manual ethogram scoring is slow, subjective, and unreliable

Trained observers spend hours scoring behavioral videos frame by frame. Inter-rater agreement is often modest, threshold criteria drift across long scoring sessions, and expanding the ethogram to include additional behaviors multiplies scoring time linearly. The result is a bottleneck that limits sample sizes and delays analysis.

  • A trained observer requires 3-5 hours to score a 30-minute behavioral session for a standard ethogram
  • Inter-rater agreement (Cohen's kappa) for complex behaviors like grooming subtypes rarely exceeds 0.7
  • Adding behaviors to the ethogram scales linearly — each new category requires a full re-scoring pass
The solution

ML classifiers with temporal smoothing and custom training

ConductVision applies machine learning classifiers to pose and trajectory features, assigning behavioral labels at every frame. Weighted temporal smoothing prevents frame-to-frame label flicker. Users can define and train classifiers for custom behaviors specific to their experimental model.

  • Frame-by-frame behavioral labels assigned by ML classifiers trained on pose and trajectory features
  • Weighted temporal smoothing eliminates single-frame label flicker without losing genuine rapid transitions
  • Custom classifier training — define new behaviors, annotate examples, train, and deploy on your data
Endpoints

Ethogram-level dependent variables

Behavior labels per frame

Behavior labels per frame

Discrete behavioral state label and classifier confidence score at every frame. Standard ethogram includes locomotion, rearing, grooming, freezing, and resting.

CSV
Bout frequency and duration per behavior

Bout frequency and duration per behavior

Number of bouts, mean and total duration, and inter-bout interval for each classified behavior. Summarized per session and per user-defined time bins.

CSV
Transition matrices between behaviors

Transition matrices between behaviors

Probability of transitioning from each behavioral state to every other state. Reveals behavioral structure and sequence patterns altered by experimental manipulation.

CSVJSON
Applications

Paradigms requiring automated behavioral annotation

Repetitive behavior

OCD-like repetitive behavior quantification

Score grooming bout frequency, duration, and sequential pattern in SAPAP3 knockouts or marble burying models. Temporal smoothing preserves micro-bout structure while eliminating noise.

Measures
  • Grooming bout frequency
  • Grooming duration
  • Sequential grooming pattern
Dermatological

Dermatitis model grooming assessment

Quantify scratching and grooming directed at specific body regions in atopic dermatitis or pruritus models. Classify cephalocaudal grooming sequence disruption.

Measures
  • Scratch bout count
  • Grooming duration by region
  • Cephalocaudal sequence fidelity
Motor stereotypy

Stereotypy detection and classification

Identify and classify repetitive motor patterns — circling, head bobbing, route tracing — in pharmacological or genetic models. Distinguish stereotypy from normal repetitive behavior.

Measures
  • Stereotypy bout frequency
  • Pattern repetition index
  • Stereotypy vs normal behavior ratio
General phenotyping

Comprehensive ethogram generation

Generate a complete behavioral profile — time budget across all classified behaviors — for phenotypic comparison across genotypes, treatments, or developmental time points.

Measures
  • Time budget per behavior
  • Behavioral diversity index
  • Activity/inactivity ratio
Compared to typical systems

How ConductVision differs

FeatureConductVisionTypical systems
Scoring speedReal-time — seconds per session3-5 hours per 30-minute session
ReproducibilityDeterministic — identical outputVariable — kappa 0.6-0.8
Custom behavior supportTrain new classifiers from annotationFixed ethogram in most systems
Temporal resolutionFrame-level with smoothingTypically binned to seconds
Transition analysisFull transition matrix outputManual compilation required

Automate your ethogram scoring

Upload a session and see grooming, rearing, and locomotion scored automatically with frame-level resolution.