GiantScope: A simulation microscopy for middle school biological experiment education

We present a simulation microscope device called GiantScope, which combines virtual microscope, cloud computing, and embedded technologies. Users can complete most of the microscope-based experiments in biology courses by operating our device, while learning the operating skills of microscopes at the same time. Our device supports most of the operation functions of optical microscopes, including quasifocus screw adjustment, slide movement recognition and so on, and also has auxiliary enhancement functions including manual measurement, annotation and so on. In addition, we have built a cloud-based digital slide database, which enables users to select experimental observations through digital slides, including static cell specimens or dynamic cell activities. After user study, we found that using GiantScope for biological experiments has better learning efficiency and user experience than traditional microscopes.