First Installation of Auto- Montage Software in India

Syncroscopy is delighted to announce Auto-Montage Pro, its innovative 3D image reconstruction software, is being used for the first time in India at the prestigious, Punjabi University Patiala to produce a classification guide of nsome of the world’s most unusual ant species.

Researchers in the Department of Zoology at Punjabi University Patiala are using a Nikon 1500 microscope and Auto-Montage Pro software to produce in-focus 3D images of ants from around India and the Himalayas. Using Auto-Montage Pro, the scientists have generated thousands of images of around 100 different ant species, many of which have never been properly identified and classified before.

Dr Himender Bharti, Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology at Punjabi University Patiala, said: “Many ants found in the Himalayas have developed interesting physical characteristics to cope with living in such a harsh environment. A large number of these features have not been documented and so an important part of ant evolution is being overlooked. This is why we need to generate accurate images of these species to complete this part of the ant classification.”

Dr Bharti continued: “Before we installed AutoMontage Pro software, we used to produce pictures of Indian ants with ink drawings or using a digital camera but the pictures couldn’t show the fine detail we required. Now, using Auto-Montage Pro we have been able to generate excellent images of our ant collection and we intend to produce a book showing the characteristics of each species using these images.”

Martin Smith of Syncroscopy, commented: “We are pleased our software has been successfully used for this fascinating project. The research being carried out at Punjabi University Patiala demonstrates once again that Auto-Montage Pro is outstanding for detailed imaging and its use can benefit any entomologist wanting to produce definitive classifications guides of species anywhere in the world.”