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First up, let’s talk about Behaviour Informatics. What is it? How can it be used in animal welfare science? Why is it important?
Behaviour Informatics is the science of capturing, processing and understanding behaviour using technology.
To capture behaviour we use sensors which can be near or worn by an animal or use images/video, processed through computer programmes to track many different types of behaviour.
Next, we use computers to make sense of any patterns in behaviour using statistics or machine learning methods.
We interpret the behaviour patterns by observing animals in contexts which are better or worse for their welfare or giving them things they like or don’t like. We may also crosscheck with physiological measures. I.e. tried and tested animal welfare science methods.
In our lab, we believe Behaviour Informatics gives us a very powerful set of tools to help understand animal welfare by: detecting the more subtle cues; bringing together lots of different aspects of behaviour; and finding patterns or changes in behaviour over time.
