Split into fragments
- Gait assayGait score
- Pain testWithdrawal threshold
- Social testInteraction time
One assay, one focus, one outcome. Each test needs its own cohort and handling, and the results rarely line up.
Blackbox Bio
Our Philosophy
Why It Matters
Every leap in biology began with a new way of seeing
We're building one for behavior, and putting it in every lab.
17th–19th century
The microscope
Lenses revealed a hidden world of cells and microbes. As microscopes spread through laboratories, they made it possible to see the causes of disease.
The science that followedCell biology, germ theory, and the foundations of modern medicine1977 – today
Gene sequencing
Reading DNA went from a heroic effort to a routine assay, and the cost of a human genome fell from about $100 million to well under $1,000.
The science that followedModern genetics and molecular biologyNow
Machine learning for behavior
Computer vision and machine learning make behavior measurable at scale.
The science that followsThe next generation of discoveries in neuroscience, musculoskeletal biology, physiology, and psychiatry
The Problem
One assay at a time, and often by eye.
That's how most labs still study behavior. The work is subjective, slow, and expensive, and the data is noisy, fragmented, and hard to reproduce, which holds back discovery.
Limited by the human eye
Observer 1
Observer 2
Observer 3
From Darwin to the ethologists who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize, the field was built on careful observation. But scoring by hand is slow, varies between observers, and misses changes too subtle or too fast to catch.
The Blackbox way
Capture it all at once
Every dimension of behavior comes from a single session, with no extra assays, cohorts, or handling.
Reasonable minds may differ. Two Blackboxes will not.
Blackbox A
Blackbox B
Same video in, same ethogram out. And machine learning measures what the eye can't, from the frequency of a tremor to the force of every footfall.
Our Approach
We borrow our words from Aristotle, who wrote of an agent's character (Ethos), what it undergoes (Pathos), and the proportions that govern its movement (Logos), and of the story its actions weave (Mythos). Seen together, they make the agent clear (Safos).
Between them, they cover every aspect of behavior.
Ethosἦθος
Classical sense
Character, revealed through choiceIn the animal
Action: what the animal doesPathosπάθος
Classical sense
What one feels and undergoesIn the animal
Condition: its internal, physiological stateLogosλόγος
Classical sense
Order, proportion, and reasonIn the animal
Structure: how its body movesMythosμῦθος
Classical sense
Story: actions woven into a plotIn the animal
Narrative: how it relates to others and its surroundingsSafosσαφής
Classical sense
Clear, distinct, plain to seeIn the animal
Combined state: all four modalities read togetherEvery behavioral modality, extracted and measured with a purpose-built decoder.
Palmreader™ Ethos
Action · Behavior scoring
Computer vision segments a recording into labeled behaviors such as grooming, rearing, and scratching, frame by frame.
Palmreader™ Pathos
Coming soon
Condition · Frequency & dynamics
Frequency-domain analysis detects the signatures of abnormal internal states such as tremor, seizure, and agitation.
Palmreader™ Logos
Structure · Gait, posture & biomechanics
Paw-contact and pose data reveal stride symmetry, interlimb coordination, body angles, and weight distribution.
Palmreader™ Mythos
Coming soon
Narrative · Behavior in context
Multi-animal ethograms and exploration tracking reveal how animals interact with each other, and what they learn to seek out or avoid.
See them as one
Safos combines all four modalities into one state, moment by moment, across a whole session.
Palmreader™ Safos
Coming soonThe Blackbox way
Every recording
Four modalities
One comprehensive view
