If you remember those fascinating photos of the surface of Mars that were taken by a NASA probe, you have seen the ability of the software that powers the Gigapan panoramic imaging system. Since NASA does not have a high speed internet connection to the Martian surface, they had to figure out a way to take and send low-resolution images from the Red Planet and convert them, back here on Earth, into ultra-high resolution images in order to study them.

The robotics lab at Carnegie Mellon University then developed a robotic device that helps digital cameras take dozens, even hundreds, of images of a panoramic scene with each image overlapping those around it. The NASA software then "stitches" these images together into a high-resolution panoramic image that allows viewers to move around within the images, zooming in and panning around to view and study even tiny details.

Combining these two new technologies, the Gigapan system is now in Beta testing, helping a handful of organizations around the world use and test the system while the bugs get worked out.

MHPI is one of those testing organizations and we can use the system to make images of your museum environment, whether indoors or out, and help document your collections or facilities, even allowing you to create fascinating "virtual tours" or your museum.