What is ODBA?

ODBA is short for Overall Dynamic Body Acceleration. It is a new acceleration index which quantifies the three-dimensional movement of animals as the value of acceleration and is assumed to be a proxy for activity-specific measurement and has been used in the field of wild animal ecology.

DEBUT devices are equipped with a high-precision 3-axis accelerometer that continuously collects raw acceleration data at a sampling rate of 25 Hz. Leveraging an embedded algorithm, the device automatically processes this continuous stream of raw acceleration data and calculates and outputs ODBA values at user-defined intervals.

For instance, if the user sets the ODBA interval to 10 minutes, the device will intelligently compute and output an ODBA value every 10 minutes. This ODBA value serves as a comprehensive metric, accurately reflecting the overall movement and activity levels exhibited by the animal during the 10-minute period.

To know more about how ODBA is calculated, please refer to the following 2 papers.

Wilson RP, White CR, Quintana F, Halsey LG, Liebsch N, Martin GR, et al. Moving towards acceleration for estimates of activity-specific metabolic rate in free-living animals: the case of the cormorant. J Anim Ecol. 2006;75(5): 1081–90.

Qasem L, Cardew A, Wilson A, Griffiths I, Halsey LG, Shepard ELC, et al. Triaxial dynamic acceleration as a proxy for animal energy expenditure; should we be summing values or calculating the vector? PLoS One. 2012;7(2): e31187.

To convert the unit of ODBA value to g, divide it by 10,000.

ODBA is unsubscribed by default. You can subscribe it if you need.

If you need to access the acceleration raw data, refer to How to obtain acceleration raw data? Can I set the collecting interval?