The AutoActive Research Environment

Abstract

ARE consists of three different software modules; ActivityPresenter, a Matlab toolbox, and a Python toolbox. ActivityPresenter is created to simplify the process of visualising, synchronising, and organising data, such as sensor data and videos from multiple sources, while the Matlab and Python toolboxes allow researchers to easily process data. Furthermore, a file format called AutoActiveZip (aaz) was created to store data and metadata in an organized manner. This format is a structured archive which contains immutable data structures and where the information within can be accessed without the use of temporary files that needs to be cleaned up. This ensures that sensitive data are not inadvertently left in temporary folders in case of program failure. The format allows the strengths of ActivityPresenter, such as synchronising data from multiple sources, and visualising videos and sensor data side by side to be combined with algorithms developed in Matlab and Python.