This page last updated: 19/02/2008
VSEM development has been most recently conducted under the auspices of a (now completed) PhD project undertaken by Geoff Martin within the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering. This work builds on the results of earlier Engineering Masters Degrees carried out by a number of other students:
The current work draws on experience gained from these projects and is widening the scope of VSEM as a concept. Earlier attempts to create a viable simulator stumbled over the difficulty of recreating the cumulative effects of multiple SEM controls. Digital videos can only be used to show one or two controls being changed at a time (since a separate video frame must be captured for every combination of control settings). Image filtering offers a more practical approach since it requires only a single base image. However, it was previously impossible in real-time for large images due to the limitations of computer processing power. This problem is now believed to be in the past.
VSEM today combines the objectives of the earlier projects, and adds modern computer-based pedagogy to develop an effective web-based instructional package for users and students of the SEM.