Looking for the Movebank Acceleration Viewer?
The Movebank Acceleration Viewer (2011 to 2020) is no longer developed. Its successor is Firetail, made by the same team.
The viewer was started through Java Web Start, which Java dropped in version 11 (2018), so most current computers can no longer run it.
Your old annotations still open: Firetail reads the viewer's annotation files.
What you used it for, and where it is in Firetail
| In the viewer | In Firetail |
|---|---|
| Load tracking and acceleration data straight from Movebank | Movebank import, with updates of your studies |
| Acceleration bursts next to the GPS track | Acceleration panel, linked to the map and the timeline |
| Annotate behaviour by hand | Annotation of acceleration and other multi-axis data |
| Your annotation files | Firetail opens them: same file in the study's download folder |
| ODBA and activity | Derived channels such as ODBA, computed on import |
New in Firetail, among others: Behaviour prediction, Video sync, IMU and magnetometer data, Home ranges (kernel density). And it handles far larger data sets: Firetail was written from scratch in C++, not ported from the viewer.
Reproducing a study that used the viewer?
These peer-reviewed studies used the Movebank Acceleration Viewer. Firetail covers most of what they did with it.
- Health monitoring in birds using bio-loggers and whole blood transcriptomicsJax, E., Müller, I., Börno, S., Borlinghaus, H., Eriksson, G., Fricke, E., Timmermann, B., Pendl, H., Fiedler, W., Klein, K., Schreiber, F., Wikelski, M., Magor, K. E. and Kraus, R. H. S. (2021), Scientific ReportsViewer used for: Automated detection of heartbeats
- Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (Felis silvestris) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern GreeceMigli, D., Astaras, C., Boutsis, G., Diakou, A., Karantanis, N. E. and Youlatos, D. (2021), AnimalsViewer used for: Computing ODBA for activity patterns (MAV v.34)
- Using GPS tracking for fruit bat conservationMandl, I., Houmadi, A., Said, I., Abdou, B. B. A., Fardane, A. K., Egger-Peitler, K., Oleksy, R., Doulton, H. and Chaihane, S. S. A. (2021), OryxViewer used for: Classifying behaviour from the acceleration axes (Fig. 2 is an MAV screenshot)
- Partial altitudinal migration of the Near Threatened satyr tragopan Tragopan satyra in the Bhutan Himalayas: implications for conservation in mountainous environmentsNorbu, N., Ugyen, Wikelski, M. C. and Wilcove, D. S. (2016), OryxViewer used for: Cross-checking activity categories, calibrated with a tagged domestic chicken
- Scaring waterfowl as a management tool: how much more do geese forage after disturbance?Nolet, B. A., Kölzsch, A., Elderenbosch, M. and van Noordwijk, A. J. (2016), Journal of Applied EcologyViewer used for: Visualising tri-axial acceleration to distinguish flight from other behaviour
- Pronounced Seasonal Changes in the Movement Ecology of a Highly Gregarious Central-Place Forager, the African Straw-Coloured Fruit Bat (Eidolon helvum)Fahr, J., Abedi-Lartey, M., Esch, T., Machwitz, M., Suu-Ire, R., Wikelski, M. and Dechmann, D. K. N. (2015), PLOS ONEViewer used for: Plotting acceleration data and classifying behaviour
From viewer to Firetail
Matthias Berger started the viewer in 2011 while working on the Movebank platform at the Max Planck Institute. Work on Firetail began in 2014, the viewer saw its last release in 2020, and Movebank today names Firetail as its successor. More in our story.
Getting started after the viewer
- Getting started with Firetail
- Loading your Movebank studies
- Annotating acceleration data (and where your annotation files live)
- Video tutorials
Questions about the viewer or moving your work to Firetail? Write to us.
Want hands-on help, such as training for your team or redoing an analysis? See our services.
Get Firetail
free downloadGet started with Firetail today! Interactively process high-density data for multi-animal, multi-year projects!
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