AnimalAccML: An open-source graphical user interface for automated behavior analytics of individual animals using triaxial accelerometers and machine learning

Abstract

Automated collection of accelerometer data and subsequent machine learning modeling are prevalent combined methods for animal behavior recognition. However, there is a lack of customized tools for user-friendly machine learning model development. Meanwhile, existing models in previous research could not be directly used for behavior interpretation. The objective of this study was to design and develop a tool for customized machine learning model development and animal behavior analysis using triaxial accelerometer data. A graphical user interface was programmed with Python and saved in a public repository for open access. The interface mainly consists of pages of ‘Manage Project’, ‘Preprocess Data’, ‘Develop Models’, and ‘Analyze Behavior’. An open dataset containing triaxial accelerometer data of six beef cattle was used to test the developed interface. The main results show that users can customize appropriate machine learning models for behavior analytics through several mouse clicks on the interface. A total of 15 models can be selected and trained to determine an optimal one, and model performance can be optimized by adjusting parameters of window size, step size, and training-to-validation ratio. Data imbalance can be solved by merging minority classes into one. The newly developed model has the capacity to analyze overall behavior time budget, statistics (e.g., mean, minimum, maximum, and standard deviation) of each behavior duration, and frequency of behavior sequences. The tool is supportive for automated animal behavior analytics critical to enhancing animal welfare, housing environment, genetics selection, and flock management.