Utilizing social media and video games to control #DIY microscopes
Open-source lab equipment is becoming more widespread with the popularization of fabrication tools such as 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, open source microcontrollers and open source software. Although many pieces of common laboratory equipment have been developed, software control of the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2017-12-01
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| Series: | PeerJ Computer Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/cs-139.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818022118451838976 |
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| author | Maxime Leblanc-Latour Craig Bryan Andrew E. Pelling |
| author_facet | Maxime Leblanc-Latour Craig Bryan Andrew E. Pelling |
| author_sort | Maxime Leblanc-Latour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Open-source lab equipment is becoming more widespread with the popularization of fabrication tools such as 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, open source microcontrollers and open source software. Although many pieces of common laboratory equipment have been developed, software control of these items is sometimes lacking. Specifically, control software that can be easily implemented and enable user-input and control over multiple platforms (PC, smartphone, web, etc.). The aim of this proof-of principle study was to develop and implement software for the control of a low-cost, 3D printed microscope. Here, we present two approaches which enable microscope control by exploiting the functionality of the social media platform Twitter or player actions inside of the videogame Minecraft. The microscope was constructed from a modified web-camera and implemented on a Raspberry Pi computer. Three aspects of microscope control were tested, including single image capture, focus control and time-lapse imaging. The Twitter embodiment enabled users to send ‘tweets’ directly to the microscope. Image data acquired by the microscope was then returned to the user through a Twitter reply and stored permanently on the photo-sharing platform Flickr, along with any relevant metadata. Local control of the microscope was also implemented by utilizing the video game Minecraft, in situations where Internet connectivity is not present or stable. A virtual laboratory was constructed inside the Minecraft world and player actions inside the laboratory were linked to specific microscope functions. Here, we present the methodology and results of these experiments and discuss possible limitations and future extensions of this work. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T08:28:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-78973a72b63a4c3c94db2463e9819df0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2376-5992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T08:28:04Z |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ Computer Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-78973a72b63a4c3c94db2463e9819df02022-12-22T02:04:00ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ Computer Science2376-59922017-12-013e13910.7717/peerj-cs.139Utilizing social media and video games to control #DIY microscopesMaxime Leblanc-Latour0Craig Bryan1Andrew E. Pelling2Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaOpen-source lab equipment is becoming more widespread with the popularization of fabrication tools such as 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC machines, open source microcontrollers and open source software. Although many pieces of common laboratory equipment have been developed, software control of these items is sometimes lacking. Specifically, control software that can be easily implemented and enable user-input and control over multiple platforms (PC, smartphone, web, etc.). The aim of this proof-of principle study was to develop and implement software for the control of a low-cost, 3D printed microscope. Here, we present two approaches which enable microscope control by exploiting the functionality of the social media platform Twitter or player actions inside of the videogame Minecraft. The microscope was constructed from a modified web-camera and implemented on a Raspberry Pi computer. Three aspects of microscope control were tested, including single image capture, focus control and time-lapse imaging. The Twitter embodiment enabled users to send ‘tweets’ directly to the microscope. Image data acquired by the microscope was then returned to the user through a Twitter reply and stored permanently on the photo-sharing platform Flickr, along with any relevant metadata. Local control of the microscope was also implemented by utilizing the video game Minecraft, in situations where Internet connectivity is not present or stable. A virtual laboratory was constructed inside the Minecraft world and player actions inside the laboratory were linked to specific microscope functions. Here, we present the methodology and results of these experiments and discuss possible limitations and future extensions of this work.https://peerj.com/articles/cs-139.pdfMicroscopeDo-It-YourselfOpen sourceRaspberry PiTwitterFlickr |
| spellingShingle | Maxime Leblanc-Latour Craig Bryan Andrew E. Pelling Utilizing social media and video games to control #DIY microscopes PeerJ Computer Science Microscope Do-It-Yourself Open source Raspberry Pi Flickr |
| title | Utilizing social media and video games to control #DIY microscopes |
| title_full | Utilizing social media and video games to control #DIY microscopes |
| title_fullStr | Utilizing social media and video games to control #DIY microscopes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Utilizing social media and video games to control #DIY microscopes |
| title_short | Utilizing social media and video games to control #DIY microscopes |
| title_sort | utilizing social media and video games to control diy microscopes |
| topic | Microscope Do-It-Yourself Open source Raspberry Pi Flickr |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/cs-139.pdf |
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