Questions, comments, complaints, bugs about this page? We would like to hear from you.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| I can't see a picture. What's wrong? | The camera page requires that your browser have Java and Java Script enabled. The image appears in a Java applet which is loaded by an inline Java script embedded in the web page. If you do not have both of these services enabled, you will not be able to see an image. |
| I have Java and Java Script enabled but it displays a grey box. What's wrong? | If you are certain that both Java and Java Script are active and you receive that message, it usually means that the version of your Java interpreter in your browser is older than the applet requires. In this case, you will need to upgrade your broswer. If, on the other hand, you have the latest browser and continue to receive this message, it means that your computer was unable to download the applet. In this case, be patient. We will correct the problem as soon as we can. |
| I've noticed that some of the cameras display in strange colors. Are they broken? | No, the cameras are not broken. The rooms in which the colors appear strange are illuminated with yellow light rather than white light. This is because those rooms are used for various photolithographic processes which are sensitive to ultraviolet light. The room lights have yellow filters over them to remove most of the ultraviolet component from their spectrum. Unfortunately, this has adverse effects on the cameras as they attempt to compensate. The result is the strange coloration that you see. |
| How does this system work? | The cameras are attached to several computers which are running video broadcasting software. Each of these "camera servers" broadcasts video from a group of cameras. The computers use a video capture card and a separate server process (daemon) for each camera. The display is a Java applet that chooses the desired video stream (with the help of the camera map and a little behind-the-scenes CGI scripting) from the appropriate server and displays it. |
| Why does the picture take so long to switch to another camera? | The script on the main page forces the Java applet to be downloaded each time the camera is changed. When the applet restarts, it has to download an initial frame from the server before the streaming starts. This allows the applet to synchronize with the video stream. The delay depends on several factors including the speed of your Java client, the speed of your computer, and the load on the servers. If several people are viewing cameras on any one particular server, it will take a little longer to download the applet. This is because the video streams have priority over the web server used to send the applet. |
| I left the window open to one of the cameras and now it's frozen (or there is a little red dot in the corner). What happened? | The broadcasting software is configured to close connections after a set period of time. This is to ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to view the cleanroom. The server can accept a limited number of connections. Currently, the video will time-out after about five minutes. You may restart the video by simply reloading the page, choosing another camera, or right clicking on the video window and then choosing 'Start'. |
| Can I copy your Java applet and insert it into my own web page so that my visitors can see the cleanroom? | No, we ask that you do not copy the Java applet to your own web site. The reason is that doing so can increase the network traffic that the servers have to handle and can have adverse effects on their performance. You may link to the main Cleanroom Resources page at http://grover.mirc.gatech.edu/ and instruct your visitors to follow the appropriate link. |
| Can I link to your camera page directly? | It is best if you do not link to any subpage directly. The documents on this web site are always being modified. Occasionally, the web site is also restructured in order to improve accessability to the information it contains. If you link to a subpage you may find that link broken at some point in the future. If you wish to link to our page, it is best to reference the main page and let the users follow the links there. |
| Are there any plans for more cameras? | We currently have twelve cameras located throughout the facility that are viewable by the public plus one for use by the staff only. Any additional cameras will depend upon financial support, public interest, and the upper management support. |
| Why do I only see a blue screen in the camera window? | A blue screen means that the video for that camera is not arriving at the video capture card. Three things can cause this problem: 1) The connection to the camera has somehow been broken preventing the video from arriving at the video capture card, 2) the camera power has been turned off or 3) the camera itself has had a malfunction or failure. If there is a problem, we will attempt to correct the problem as soon as we can. |