Improvements in imaging technology and the development of powerful machine learning algorithms are revolutionizing the study of animal behavior in the laboratory. These innovations promise to reveal both global and local features of action relevant to understanding how the brain functions. A study in BMC Biology describes one such tool called OptiMouse, which is an open source platform that uses video to capture key features of mouse behavior, including information relevant to olfactory investigation.See research article: 10.1186/s12915-017-0377-3.