Virtual Lab Downloads
Virtual Microscope Interface
The Virtual Microscope interface supports the browsing of high-resolution, multi-dimensional image datasets from our Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and our Light Microscope (LM). The download below comes with three specimens, but any one of the specimens on our data page can be downloaded and viewed with this interface.
First-Time Installation Process
If you've never installed the Virtual Lab software before you should follow the steps below to make sure that you get things installed smoothly.
- Step 1 - Visit this website to test whether you have the latest Java installed. If the website detects Java and lists the 'Java Runtime Version' as 1.5 or higher then skip to Step 3.
- Step 2 - Download and install the the newest version of the Java Runtime Environment or else the Virtual Lab software won't work.
- Step 3 - Choose to download either an installer application or ZIP archive of the Virtual Lab from the links below and install it.
Installers for Windows and Mac
Although the Virtual Lab will run on Mac OSX, Windows, or Linux as long as Java is installed, these platform-specific installers make installing the Virtual Lab on your computer even easier.
- Download version 6.2.2 of the Virtual Microscope with three included samples (128MB) for Microsoft Windows
- Download version 6.2.2 of the Virtual Microscope with three included samples (128MB) for Mac OSX
Zipped Distributions for UNIX
These downloads are zipped folders containing the software, and are usable for any platorm that has Java installed. If you have Windows or Mac OS X, you'll probably prefer an installer (above), but if you're running Linux, SunOS, etc., then these zipped packages are for you.
- Download version 6.2.2 of the Virtual Microscope, with three included samples (128MB)
- Manual Installation Instructions
Virtual Microscope Sourcecode
The Virtual Microscope is an open source project, which
means you can download and edit the computer source code
files for your own needs (with some restrictions).
Data
The driver behind this project is the image data. We
are continually refining our process and producing new
datasets that you can view with the Virtual Microscope.
To download new datasets, visit our
data page.
Data Collection and Image Stitching Tools
We have written a variety of tools for automated data capture from our LM and SEM, as well as software for blending and stitching this automatically acquired image tile data from the instruments.
- Tiling Scripts for Openlab 4.x Microscope Control Software (v1.0)
- Image alignment and stitching tool (coming soon)
Training Materials
We have developed animations and documents to teach you
the theories behind the instruments that produced our data.
These include Flash animations and video clips.
Read more on our training page...→
- SEM Training Animation (requires Flash)
- How to Prepare Samples for the SEM (video)
- How ESEM Works (PDF)
File Format Schema
The file format we use to store our image datasets is described by an XML file that accompanies each dataset. We encourage others to use this file format for compatibility with the Virtual Microscope.