Multiple Object Tracking Test — Free Task: Follow Several Moving Dots at Once

Multiple object tracking, proposed by Pylyshyn and Storm in 1988, measures the ability to keep following a set of targets while many identical objects move around. You have one gaze, but attention can attach to several objects at once — and the key finding of this task is that the number you can hold simultaneously has a limit. It relates to situations where several motions must be monitored together, such as driving, team sports or watching over multiple children.

Among 10 dots on screen, the targets blink yellow for 2 seconds — memorize them, starting with 3. All dots then turn the same color and mingle for 8 seconds; when they stop, tap the dots that were targets. Getting every target right moves you up a level, alternating between a 20% speed increase and one more target, up to a maximum of 5 targets. The test ends after two consecutive failures or 12 trials.

The headline result is the level you reached, shown alongside tracking accuracy (the percentage of all targets you picked correctly), the number of perfect trials and your highest speed multiplier. The key measure is guess-corrected tracking capacity: if you got h of n targets right, it assumes you truly tracked k and guessed the rest, computing k = (h×10 − n²) ÷ (10 − 2n + h) and reporting the mean k across trials.

A mean capacity of 4 or more is described as excellent, 3 or more as good — matching the average adult tracking capacity of about 3 to 4 objects — 2 or more as fair, and below that as low on this measurement. The overall battery score converts mean capacity to a 0-100 scale with 5 as full marks. The trial log records level, number of targets, speed multiplier and hits for each trial.

Speed is set relative to the shorter side of the screen and capped on small screens, so the same level can feel different on different devices. The first attempt or two carry a sizable practice effect as you learn where to rest your eyes, so follow the trend across repeats on the same device.

Tracking capacity is sensitive to fatigue and distraction, so scoring a level lower on short-sleep days or after long work is common. Caffeine can briefly help by raising alertness but has little effect on steady tracking, and a decline in how many objects you can follow at once with age is a typical change. A small screen or a busy surrounding makes it easy to lose targets at the moment dots overlap.

Soundary saves your results and shows the change from your previous test. Repeating every one to two weeks on the same device at a similar time of day, and following the trend in mean tracking capacity and level reached, helps you tell condition-related fluctuation from steady change. This is a self-check, not a diagnostic tool.

If a mean capacity below 2 keeps recurring even when you are well rested, and in daily life you lose track of surrounding cars while driving or become confused in situations with several people moving around, consider discussing an assessment of attention and visuospatial cognition with a professional.