Technology · Noldus
Faces, rooms and behaviour, recorded and coded.
Noldus has built behavioural research software in Wageningen since 1989, and more than 50,000 peer-reviewed studies cite its tools. Three of them complete a Tobii lab: FaceReader reads emotion from the face, NoldusViso records the room, and The Observer XT codes and analyses it all.
Supplied and supported in the Middle East by Consort XPR.
Figures: noldus.com, October 2026.
01 · The three tools
Emotion, observation and analysis, side by side.
Noldus
Noldus · 1
FaceReader 10
Facial expression, no calibration
- Measures
- 6 basic expressions, neutral, contempt
- Also
- Valence, arousal, 20 Action Units
- Vital signs
- Heart rate, HRV, breathing (Premium)
- Input
- Webcam, IP camera, video, images
- Calibration
- Not needed; optional per person
- Live or offline
- Both
- Software
- FaceReader 10, Windows 11
- Best for
- Advertising, UX, consumer and psychology research, from a camera alone.
Noldus · 2
NoldusViso
The whole room, on record
- Records
- Video, audio and screen capture
- Cameras
- Multiple per room, more than four
- Rooms
- One room to several buildings
- Viewing
- Live or later, in the browser
- Annotation
- Markers and comments
- Security
- Encryption, two-factor sign-in
- Software
- NoldusViso, new release
- Best for
- Medical simulation, training rooms and UX labs with observers.
Noldus · 3
The Observer XT
Code, analyse, synchronise
- Does
- Behavioural coding and analysis
- Coding
- Live or from multiple videos
- Analysis
- Sequences, durations, co-occurrence
- Statistics
- Lag sequential analysis
- Reliability
- Inter-rater, Cohen’s Kappa
- Integrates
- FaceReader, Tobii, EEG, physiology
- Software
- The Observer XT 17
- Best for
- Any study where behaviour must be coded, counted and tested.
02 · FaceReader 10
Emotion from the face, with nothing on the participant.
FaceReader is developed by VicarVision and distributed exclusively by Noldus. It is trained on more than 100,000 manually annotated images and models almost 500 key points on the face.
Essential
Expressions
The six universal expressions: happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared and disgusted, each as a continuous intensity. A low-cost start for teaching and early projects.
Advanced
Action Units and analysis
Adds 20 FACS Action Units with left and right detail, project analysis across participants, and Baby FaceReader for infants aged 6 to 24 months.
Premium
Vital signs, voice and more
Adds heart rate, heart-rate variability and breathing rate from the camera, emotion in the voice, chewing and sipping, webcam eye tracking, and up to 8 faces per video.
Accuracy, in Noldus’s own tests. FaceReader 10 classified expressions correctly 98.7% of the time on the ADFES dataset and 97.2% on WSEFEP. It cannot identify people and is not designed for surveillance. Use a good camera: Noldus states that simple webcams are not suitable.
03 · NoldusViso
Every camera, every room, in the browser.
The new NoldusViso is browser-based, with nothing to install. Noldus launches the new release on 8 October 2026.
Record
Multi-camera, multi-room
Several cameras per room, including set-ups with more than four, across multiple rooms or buildings, run from one workstation.
Observe
Live, from anywhere
Remote observers watch live or later on any device, without full system access. Screen capture can carry Tobii gaze overlays or FaceReader data.
Protect
Built for sensitive sessions
Encryption at rest and in transit, two-factor authentication, audit trail and user roles. Noldus is ISO 27001 certified.
04 · The Observer XT
Turn hours of video into numbers you can test.
The Observer XT is where behaviour becomes data: you build a coding scheme, code events live or from video, and analyse them alongside every other stream.
Code
Your scheme, frame-accurate
From a simple event log to complex frameworks, coded live or from multiple videos with frame-level accuracy.
Analyse
Sequences and statistics
Durations, frequencies, co-occurrences and lag sequential analysis, with inter-rater reliability checks using Cohen’s Kappa.
Synchronise
One timeline for everything
Facial expressions, eye tracking, physiology and EEG beside your coded behaviour, including BIOPAC and Bitbrain Diadem.
05 · Working with Tobii
Faces and behaviour, tied to what people looked at.
Noldus connects to Tobii through The Observer XT, and lists Tobii Pro among its preferred eye-tracking suppliers for FaceReader studies.
Control
Start Tobii from The Observer
A plug-in starts and stops Tobii Pro Lab recording from The Observer XT, so every system begins together.
Import
Gaze in the event log
Tobii AOI data and gaze-replay video import into The Observer XT, beside FaceReader output and your coded behaviour.
Observe
Gaze on the observer screen
NoldusViso can show eye-tracking gaze overlays on screen capture, so observers see what the participant saw.
06 · Questions
Before you specify.
Which FaceReader edition do I need?
Essential covers the six basic expressions. Advanced adds Action Units, project analysis and Baby FaceReader. Premium adds vital signs, voice analysis, consumption behaviour, webcam eye tracking and multiple faces. We will match the edition to your study.
Does FaceReader need calibration?
No calibration is needed to start. Optional calibration per participant can correct individual bias, and FaceReader works live from a camera or offline from video.
Can FaceReader work with Tobii eye tracking?
Yes, through The Observer XT, which starts and stops Tobii Pro Lab recording and imports Tobii data beside FaceReader output and your coded events.
What is new in NoldusViso?
The new NoldusViso runs in the browser with nothing to install, supports multiple cameras and rooms, live remote viewing, markers, and encryption with two-factor sign-in. Noldus launches it on 8 October 2026.
Who supplies Noldus in the Middle East?
Consort XPR supplies, installs and supports FaceReader, NoldusViso and The Observer XT across the GCC and the Levant, alongside the Tobii systems they connect to.
Read more: Seeing is believing: eye tracking, EEG, GSR and facial coding in consumer research · Behind the scenes of a usability test
Tell us what you need to observe. We will build the lab.
Noldus, NoldusViso and The Observer are trademarks of Noldus Information Technology BV, Wageningen, the Netherlands. FaceReader is a trademark of VicarVision. Descriptions are taken from noldus.com and may change. Tobii is a trademark of Tobii AB.
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