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Questions?
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Have questions about electron microprobe analysis? Want to know more about our facility? Send us an e-mail or visit our Contact Us page.
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What is the MMRA Project?
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The Minnesota Microprobe Remote Access (MMRA) Project is an initiative that allows real-time access to our electron microprobe, using standard World Wide Web browsers, for research and teaching. This project makes our state-of-the-art instrument more available to the broader scientific community as well as educators and students. We consider this project to be important in fulfilling the three-part mission of the Electron Microprobe Laboratory and the University of Minnesota: Research and Discovery, Teaching and Learning, and Outreach and Public Service.
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What is Remote Access?
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Remote access means that a remote researcher -- that is, someone not physically present at the instrument -- can use any internet-capable computer to access our electron microprobe here at the University of Minnesota. The technology allows researchers at distant locations to oversee and contribute to their analyses. Our remote access capabilities provide us with unique opportunities for research, education, and industry with our electron microprobe.
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How Does Remote Access Work?
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Remote users can view four live video streams: (1) a view into the laboratory, (2) the visible-light microscope on the microprobe, (3) the electron image (either backscatter or secondary electrons), and (4) the workstation monitor. These video streams are 704 x 480 pixels in size and reach 30 frames per second with fast web connections. The only software needed is Internet Explorer 4.x or higher (used with Axis ActiveX component, which is automatically downloaded) or Netscape 4.x or higher. The microprobe itself is operated by lab staff while a remote user can see and capture images of his or her sample, choose points to analyze, and inspect X-ray spectra or element maps.
Click on a thumbnail below for a full-size image or a short QuickTime video (0.5 MB):
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Remote Access for Research
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Remote access allows a researcher who is not present in our lab -- whether across campus or in another hemisphere -- to contribute to their analyses. When a researcher sends a set of samples to the lab, it is not uncommon for lab personnel to encounter something unexpected, and sometimes it is not clear what the researcher would like analyzed or mapped. With our remote access system, a researcher can choose a specific olivine, for instance, to be analyzed or a certain association of minerals to be mapped. Now researchers do not need to spent time and money on travel to our lab to see the electron image of their sample or to choose particular points for quantitative analysis.
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Remote Access for Education
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Our remote access system permits students to interact with our electron microprobe and obtain visual information about the tasks performed by lab personnel. Students in a petrology class, for instance, can view backscatter-electron images of a particular sample, ask for specific points to be analyzed, and immediately see the resulting spectrum of characteristic X-rays. With this interaction, such an exercise is more much pedagogically effective. Our video streams mean that students do not need to know how to operate the instrumentation -- that is not the point for students in a mineralogy or petrology course. Instead, seeing a live backscatter-electron image or an X-ray spectrum from a point they chose catches the interest of students and allows them to make decisions while they learn about mineral associations.
Many classrooms are now equipped with Internet connections and a computer with a projection system. As a result, a lecturer in such a classroom can project our video streams onto a screen or wall so that the entire class can observe the analysis of a sample. Lab rooms also often have internet-capable computers, so a small group of students could, on the phone, ask lab personnel to move to some point on a sample and examine a specific crystal.
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FAQs about Remote Access
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Can I directly operate the microprobe from off-site?
No, our laboratory uses "passive" remote access. For safety and sercurity reasons, we chose not to allow remote users direct access to our software or hardware. Remote users cannot access data stored on the microprobe workstation or alter critical settings. In addition, to protect our local network, our lab has a dedicated and secure server for remote access. We have found, though, that passive remote access suits the needs of many off-site users.
Could you have set up your microprobe to be operated directly?
Yes and no. Our electron microprobe has, in the past, been operated remotely by lab staff, and it could be set up to do so again. However, remote operation of the microprobe still requires a lab staff member to be present. Sample changes, of course, cannot be done remotely, and there are other functions that cannot be remotely controlled, such as brightness and contrast of the backscattered electron image. In addition, the various software programs used to remotely operate TEMs and SEMs are often limited in functionality for safety and sercurity reasons. Therefore, direct control of the microprobe is much more efficient when one is actually sitting in front of the instrument.
Can I have a demonstration?
If you are interested in remote access to our microprobe, either send us an e-mail or give us a call, and we can discuss a demonstration. You can also download a short demonstration video (0.5 MB).
Is this a secure system?
Our lab has a dedicated and secure server for remote access, providing both speed and security. The server is password-protected, and remote users cannot access data stored on the microprobe workstation or any other computer. Simply put, the video server is isolated from every other computer and server in our lab.
Who has access to these video streams?
The server is password-protected, and only the lab manager has a password that is always enabled. Remote researchers are granted temporary usernames and passwords that are deleted when their analyses are complete.
Are the video streams recorded and kept?
No. The camera in the lab could be set up to serve as a security camera and record images of motion in the lab. This was, in fact, its initial function. However, unless the lab has security problems, it is the policy of the lab manager not to record video from the camera. The other video streams could likewise be recorded but are not.
Why am I prompted to lower my security settings and install ActiveX?
If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer and are accessing our server for the first time, you must temporarily lower your sercuity settings. This allows a one-time-only installation of the Axis ActiveX component, which is needed to view our video streams. Set your security level to low, type the URL of our server into your location window and press enter, select "yes" to install the ActiveX component, and return your security level to its initial value. The installation is needed because our server uses "server push" technology that is native to Netscape but not Explorer.
Which web browsers work for remote access, and which do not?
Internet Explorer and Netscape both work well for remote access. Opera also seems to work with our system. Safari does not work. We have not yet tested any other browsers; we will continue to update this list as we do.
The video stream seems frozen. What should I do?
Your web browser might occasionally display a cached (stored) image rather than newest one from the server. When this occurs, just click Refresh/Reload in your browser's toolbar, and the video should be updated.
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Chat and Instant Messenging
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The Electron Microprobe Laboratory also has text and video chat abilities for those who wish to consult via the web. The laboratory has an AOL Instant Messenger account (screen name: ElectronProbeLab), as does the lab manager (screen name: elleryfrahm). This program is free and compatible with both PCs and Macintosh computers.
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Content published on this Web Site is copyright the University of Minnesota Regents, the Electron Microprobe Laboratory, and/or the laboratory's users. Some content (particularly analyses and images of specimens) represents the intellectual property of laboratory users. Reproduction or distribution without permission is prohibited. Site content is available for educational and informational uses only, provided that the content is unmodified and that permission is granted by the author and/or the laboratory manager.
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