Ctrax

If you are conducting scientific experiments, you are probably aware that without the corresponding set of tools, you wouldn't be able to accomplish your tasks efficiently.

In this situation, you can rely on software solutions such as Ctrax that can help you achieve convenient results by providing you with a wide array of relevant functions.

This tool was designed to help you track the movement patterns, positions and orientations of several fruit flies on a surface by analyzing an appropriate video recording from your computer. It supports the following formats: AVI, FMF, SBFMF, and UFMF.

After loading a supported file, you can start the analysis process by navigating to the "Track" menu and selecting the "Start Tracking" option or by simply using the Ctrl + R keyboard shortcut. The application assigns a distinct marker to each of the flies and remembers it for long time periods.

It is possible to configure the background so that the analysis and tracking processes are carried out as efficiently as possible. This enhances the accuracy of the results.

The application subtracts the background of the video frame-by-frame, leaving only the subjects (flies) that Ctrax analyzes. You need to specify whether you have white flies on a dark background or the other way around.

After tracking the movement patterns, trajectory and positions of the flies in your video file, you can perform automated analysis, which saves you the hassle of processing data manually by providing you with instant results.

You can plot trajectories and velocities, as well as access various histograms for the flies' positions, speeds and turning speeds.

All things considered, Ctrax is a handy application that can be used to track and analyze the movement, trajectories, velocity and speed of fruit flies by extracting the details from a video file. It comes with a simplistic interface, packs several functions and lets you plot some of the data or access histograms about it.