Wageningen, 19 July 2002 - Noldus Information Technology today announced that it has signed an agreement with PatternVision Ltd, developer of the Theme™ software for pattern detection in sequential data. Theme is a powerful research tool that is able to detect patterns in complex data sets. It uses unique methods and algorithms to identify hidden relationships that cannot be found using conventional statistical techniques and is particularly suited to the analysis of behavioral data. The agreement entails the joint development of Theme towards full-scale commercialization, and makes Noldus the worldwide exclusive distributor of the package.

Strategic agreement
Noldus Information Technology will market and sell Theme exclusively under its own brand name using its worldwide distribution network, while PatternVision will continue the technical development of the software. Theme already has users in a wide variety of application areas, especially in the behavioral science community. Now that Theme is ready for commercial release, Noldus Information Technology is ideally placed to take care of its sales and marketing. "We believe that the agreement will lead to substantial business opportunities for both parties and that it will stimulate further development of innovative research tools for behavioral scientists", said Janet van Vreeswijk, product manager at Noldus Information Technology's international headquarters.

Theme
Theme is built on a unique algorithm that searches for hidden repeated patterns in behavior and interactions, based on a model of the temporal organization of behavior. It considers both the order and the time distances between behavioral event types as well as hierarchical organization. According to Magnus Magnusson, developer of Theme and president of PatternVision Ltd, "The software behaves as an evolution program, in the sense that it detects complex patterns gradually as combinations of simpler ones and deals with combinatorial explosions through competition between patterns such that only the most complete patterns are retained (survive) while partial detections are discarded. Theme can detect complex repeated patterns that are hidden to observers and very hard or impossible to detect with other available methods." The software includes various tools for the filtering and analysis of detected patterns on the basis of their frequency, complexity, structure, actor identity and behavioral content. Theme has been used extensively in studies of human communication, spoken dialogue, gestures, protocol analysis, etc. Other potential applications are the analysis of human-system interaction and navigation patterns in software user interfaces or web sites, detection of drug effects on behavior, behavioral disorders in human and animals, etc.

About Noldus Information Technology
Noldus Information Technology, founded in 1989, develops and markets innovative software tools for behavioral research. Its products enable scientists to study behavioral processes, automate measurements, improve the quality of their data, increase productivity, and make optimal use of human or animal resources. The company operates from offices in The Netherlands, Germany and USA. Sales and customer support are facilitated by a worldwide network of distributors and resellers.