| Expanding our view of the small world through gigapixel imaging technology. |
Photography and imaging play a crucial role in the study of biological systems. Photographs record aspects of subjects for analysis and comparison. Photographs also freeze a changing subject at an instant in time for later study.
Gigapixel-scale image capture and explorable viewing extend the photograph fundamentally, enabling new science. While the act of traditional photography is the act of selection, gigapixel photography lets the scientist capture an entire subject and its context in full detail, deferring the selection of salient portions until later.
Gigapixel-scale imagery at the microscopic level combined with online access and analysis tools gives scientists and educators new abilities:
- Virtual online specimens, accessible simultaneously by multiple viewers, with annotation and collaboration capabilities. This capability may seem obvious, but it is a critical element to unlocking the door to collections around the world, expediting study of time-sensitive specimens through remote viewing, and provides a means of public access and discourse.
- Explore, compare, and contrast multiple subjects simultaneously. Often it is during the act of comparison itself that the salient features emerge, leveraging the strength of gigapixel-scale imagery. Traditional photographs, with the need to select salient features at capture time, fall short for this task. The two subjects can be from different locations, or different times. The viewer is effectively in two places (or times) at once.
- Exhaustively recording a changing subject for later study, e.g. a small paleontological specimen before fixative is applied, a growing plant, embryo, or culture.
Featured Research Example
Colony Collapse Disorder |
1.9 Gigapixel image (1,900 Megapixels)
constructed from 12,240 images
This test specimen was imaged by Gene Cooper using the latest prototype of the Micro GigaPan Imager. The purpose of the test is to test new lighting techniques to illuminate and capture the full depth and detail of each cell from a collapsed honey bee colony frame. The imaging is designed to assist researchers at Penn State University in identifying the causes of colony collapse disorder which affects crop success across the country. The honey bee frame was provided by Dennis vanEnglesdorp at Penn State University.
Use the GigaPan viewer below to explore the full resolution of the specimen.
Click Here to View Fullscreen Version in New Window
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Where we're at today...
Our team has solved the technological problems associated with gigapixel microscopic-scale capture, including very accurate parallax correction between images captured across translation, and expanding the limited depth-of-field by stacking multiple focal distances; we capture images taken across two dimensions of translation and one of focus, and combine them into single, seamless, and calibrated, exporable gigapixel images.
Over the past two years, we have developed a number of prototype robotic rigs that automate the image capture process. These rigs have remarkable capabilities that allow us to precisely capture images at magnifications ranging from 1X to 1500X and with rapid capture rates (up to 3000 images per hour). In their design we include independent control of the position of the subject being photographed, the focus of the lens, lighting, and the camera body itself. The example gigapixel images we have captured to date are from each of these rigs and represent the first iterations of our process to refine and develop the technology.
Three ways to capture imagery with Micro GigaPan...
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Micro GigaPan Imager
Prototype |
Micro GigaPan
Enabled Microscope |
Micro GigaPan
Adaptation Kit |
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Where we are going...
Our primary goal from the start is to put this technology into the hands of researchers, educators, and the public at large. We're now working to make the process work outside our lab; like the larger-scale GigaPan system, we intend to do the following:
- make this automated and very simple, with the goal of "single button" operation
- provide a complete robotic system that is affordable, not only to institutions, but to individuals as well
- include integrated software for processing the images and uploading to the GigaPan website
- expand upon the tools already developed on the GigaPan website to explore, examine, discuss, and share each gigapixel image
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| Project News |
Discovery News, June 1, 2010
Super Hi-Res Photos for Science:
View Complete Article -->>
Discovery News, May 24, 2010
MakerFaire 2010: Super Hi-Res Photo Project Aids in Science Research
View Complete Article -->>
MakerFaire Exhibition
May 22-23, 2010
The Small World Explorations project was presented this year at the MakerFaire in San Mateo, CA. The exhibit included four 5' x 12' prints of gigapixel images, robotic micro and macro rigs capturing images, and kiosk demos of gigapixel imagery from GigaPan.
Visit the MakerFaire webpage -->
Google I/O Exhibition
May 20, 2010
The Small World Explorations project was presented during a special event at the Google I/O in San Francisco. The project was invited to show as part of the Make After Hours exhibit area.
Visit the Google I/O webpage -->
Small World Explorations Project to be shown at the Siggraph International Conference in Los Angeles, CA.
The Small World Explorations project will present a series of technologies, talks, and operating robotic rigs at The Studio, a hands-on space for making and creating work at the Siggraph conference in LA, July 24-30.
Visit the Siggraph Studio webpage -->
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