Real-time, low-latency closed-loop feedback using markerless posture tracking
- Harvard University, United States
- NeuroGears, United Kingdom
- University of Oregon, United States
- EPFL, Switzerland
Abstract
The ability to control a behavioral task or stimulate neural activity based on animal behavior in real-time is an important tool for experimental neuroscientists. Ideally, such tools are noninvasive, low-latency, and provide interfaces to trigger external hardware based on posture. Recent advances in pose estimation with deep learning allows researchers to train deep neural networks to accurately quantify a wide variety of animal behaviors. Here we provide a new DeepLabCut-Live! package that achieves low-latency real-time pose estimation (within 15 ms, >100 FPS), with an additional forward-prediction module that achieves zero-latency feedback, and a dynamic-cropping mode that allows for higher inference speeds. We also provide three options for using this tool with ease: (1) a stand-alone GUI (called DLC-Live! GUI, and integration into (2) Bonsai and (3) AutoPilot. Lastly, we benchmarked performance on a wide range of systems so that experimentalists can easily decide what hardware is required for their needs.
Data availability
All models, data, test scripts and software is already released and made freely available on GitHub: https://github.com/DeepLabCut/DeepLabCut-live
Article and author information
Author details
Mackenzie W Mathis
Funding
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (EOSS)
- Alexander Mathis
- Mackenzie W Mathis
National Science Foundation (1309047)
- Jonny L Sanders
The Rowland Institute at Harvard, Harvard University
- Gary A Kane
- Alexander Mathis
- Mackenzie W Mathis
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All mouse work was carried out under the permission of the IACUC at Harvard University (#17-07-309). Dog videos and feedback was exempt from IACUC approval (with conformation with IACUC).
Copyright
© 2020, Kane et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Real-time, low-latency closed-loop feedback using markerless posture tracking
eLife 9:e61909.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61909
