Photosynth

The Encyclopedia of Life announced on August 20, 2008 that it is using Microsoft Photosynth to allow EOL users to get an up-close look at selected natural-history specimens housed in research facilities, museums, and other scientific collections. The specimens showcased in the Photosynth launch — the first of what are expected to be thousands to be displayed this way — will give scientists, students, and nature enthusiasts the opportunity to study intricate details of specimens from eight different species, including a harlequin beetle, a brain coral and a toucan skeleton. The specimens were photographed at the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) at Harvard University, one of EOL’s six cornerstone institutions.


The links to the initial species photosynths are below. In the future, we plan to integrate these synths into the species pages themselves. Note that the links to the synths direct you to the Photosynth site, and that in order to view the synths, you will need to download the synth software. Curently the synth software is only available for Windows PCs, with a Mac version to follow. The current system requirements are: Windows XP SP2 or SP3, or Vista, IE7 or Firefox 2 or 3, video card with a minimum of 32mb of video RAM, with 64MB or more recommended, minimum DirectX7 is recommended, 1 GB of RAM and a 2.0GHz CPU recommended, and a broadband network connection.


Imperial Blue Butterflies


Bullet Ant


Brain Coral


Harlequin Beetle


Gastropod Shell


Giant Helicopter Damselfly


Toco Toucan


Trilobite Fossil