The composite mosaics that are created by stitching PiAutoStage imagery may be tens to hundreds of MB in size. This presents a significant hurdle in delivering imagery to students or colleagues as these large files may be slow to download or may be inaccessible to those on data-limited connections. We have chosen to use Deep Zoom technology integrated with the OpenSeadragon webviewer as one solution that addresses some of these limitations.

Deep Zoom allows for streamlined viewing of high resolution images. It works by displaying only the area being observed, at a resolution approriate for the current magnification level. This method requires only small portions of the total image be displayed at a given time, thereby limiting the amount of data needing to be downloaded.

OpenSeadragon is "An open-source, web-based viewer for high-resolution zoomable images, implemented in pure JavaScript, for desktop and mobile."

OpenSeadragon is embedded into a webpage, allowing for easy delivery and viewing of materials.

We have successfully implemented OpenSeadragon to deliver teaching and research materials using learning management software (D2L) and standard Apache webservers. See the examples page for our implementations or view a wide range of uses on OpenSeadragon webpage.