Good news, Bio Image Operation is now available as Open Source on GitHub

https://github.com/folterj/BioImageOperation

Major re-release: BIO is now pure C++ with Qt, and command-line

Click here for the feature video

The latest release of Bio Image Operation (BIO) is available here.

Download BIO (latest version using Qt/console)

Download BIO 1.5.440.1 (older version using Windows Forms)

Download user manual

Download script manual

Version 1.7.1

- Simplified versioning

- Improved tracking using better ID information

- Added Pause operation

- Added basic script generation

- Reintroduced Totals option for sources

- Improved background subtraction and added min/max image buffer functions

- Renamed weighting function

- Larger points in cluster/track drawing functions

- Make labeling colors better distinguishable

- Redid color tables

- Redid cluster/track output information, added features and advanced features

- Redid log files to handle writing to many files efficiently

- Work-around for reading GoPro videos (known OpenCV issue)

- Bug fix: correctly closing output csv files

- Bug fix: set source sizes after scale/crop

- Bug fix: memory leak in tracking

- Improved error handling, including closing while in operation

Version 1.6.440.6

- Converted script help from RTF to MD, also shown in UI

Version 1.6.440.5

- Bug fix: correct paths in export

- Bug fix: booleans without value allowed

- Bug fix: correct split export cluster/tracks

- Bug fix: correct visibility order of cluster drawing

Version 1.6.440.3

- Bug fix: wildcard file patterns

- Bug fix: display grayscale images

- Bug fix: fixed printing cluster labels

- Bug fix: correct display numbers in window titles

- Handle redraw multiple text/image windows,

- Added dynamic resizing to image windows

- Added fixed size font

Version 1.6.440.2:

- Added command-line functionality, running scripts and operation help

- Added functionality providing corresponding text output in console

Version 1.6.440.1:

- Major re-release: Now using pure std/C++ and Qt (Qt5) as main gui, enabling potentially cross-platform

- Operation arguments checking is improved, consistently with operation syntax check now also occurring before execution starts

- Improved script instructions / generated manual

- Known issues: SSL not working (used in checking for updates)

Version 1.5.440.1:

- Improved tracking: now uses more accurate id information

- Fixed bug in cluster images

- Support OpenCV 4.4.0

Version 1.4.420.22:

- Save clusters/tracks: now uses frames and time as well as saving contours, added different output formats

- Fixed various small bugs

- Support OpenCV 4.2.0 (and correct version of openh264)

Version 1.4.410.21:

- Fixed memory leak in showing images with stride

- Use time when saving tracks etc

- Proper file modified detection including auto save on run

Version 1.4.410.20:

- Fixed bug in videos without length/frames property

- Fixed bug showing images with stride/padding

- Fixed bug not showing images after error occurs

- Minor fixes for video progress

- Support OpenCV 4.1.0

Version 1.4.400.10:

- Added saving clusters and tracks by label

Version 1.4.400.9: 

- Exposed video API selection

Version 1.4.400.8:

- Fixed bugs in image series and cluster drawing

- Simplified stats calculations improving automatic tracking parameter calculation

- Supports OpenCV 4.0.0

Version 1.4.341.7:

- Added GPL license information

Version 1.4.341.6:

- Further improved automatically finding optimal tracking parameters

- Added 'Check for updates' functionality

- Minor bug fixes

Version 1.4.341.5:

- Significantly improved automatically finding optimal tracking parameters

- Draw logarithmic color legend based on input parameters

- Many improvements and bug fixes and updates to the help/manual

Version 1.4.341.4:

- Implemented directly writing to video file using H264 encoding

Version 1.4.341.3:

- Significant improvement in overall performance

Version 1.4.341.2 (OpenCV 3.4.1):

- Implemented all track draw functions including many options

- Improved script argument checking and help

- Uses OpenCV 3.4.1

Version 1.4.34.1 (OpenCV 3.4) - This is a major rewrite from C#/Emgu to C++/OpenCV. These are the key points:

- Using OpenCV directly - with full library support and using the latest version

- Real-time processing of HD video source (on standard consumer hardware) due to significant performance improvements

- Direct memory management with superior memory footprint

- Improved error handling and argument checking

- Built-in dynamically-generated script help

- Improved cluster detection: using connected components for accurate cluster sizes

- Very efficient custom image display, for minimal impact on main image processing loop

- Improved installer with pre-requisites detection and download (using WiX)

- Re-branded artwork

Flexible Script-based Image Operation

Bio Image Operation or 'BIO', is a next generation Image processing tool focussing on biological applications, balancing ease of use with desired flexibility required for research.

This tool has been developed in collaboration with biologists, using extensive captured images.

The solution balancing both the need for research purposes and flexibility required for this, and desired ease of use is realised in a script based user interface.

The tool uses the widely used OpenCV for many of it's image operations, with an efficient tracking algorithm allowing real time processing (upto HD @ 50 fps).

Automated tracking example: Tracking from public source: ants walking on concrete with varying lighting (video used from this public source):

(View full video here)

User Interface

Visualisation example

Visualising tracks simply using image combination (Source material from Tom Wenseleers and colleagues - University of Leuven)