computer science

MountainsMap

MountainsMap is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand MountainsMap rather than just read about it. In short: Mountains is an image analysis and surface metrology software platform published by the company Digital Surf. Its core is "micro-topography", the science of studying surface texture and form in 3D at the microscopic scale.

Key takeaways

MountainsMap belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MountainsMap to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MountainsMap from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mountains is an image analysis and surface metrology software platform published by the company Digital Surf. Its core is "micro-topography", the science of studying surface texture and form in 3D at the microscopic scale. The software is dedicated to profilometers, 3D light microscopes ("MountainsMap"), scanning electron microscopes ("MountainsSEM") and scanning probe microscopes ("MountainsSPIP").

Integration by instrument manufacturers The main editor's distribution channel is OEM, through the integration of MountainsMap by most profiler and microscope manufacturers, usually under their respective brands.

Compatibility Mountains native file format is the SURF format (.SUR extension). Mountains is compatible with most instruments of the market capable of supplying images or topography. Mountains complies to the ISO 25178 standard on 3D surface texture evaluation and offers the profile and areal filters defined in ISO 16610. The metrology reports are generated in proprietary format but can also be exported to PDF and RTF formats. Mountains is available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, simplified Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian and Spanish.

Data types ("studiables") accepted Vocabulary:

x , y , z {\displaystyle x,y,z} refer to space coordinates, t {\displaystyle t} to the time, and i {\displaystyle i} to an intensity. A = f ( B ) {\displaystyle A=f(B)} means A {\displaystyle A} is function of B {\displaystyle B} , B {\displaystyle B} referring usually to space coordinates and A {\displaystyle A} to a scalar. In Mountains's vocabulary, these data types are referred to as "studiables". Most studiables have a dynamic (time-series) equivalent, e.g., the surface studiable z = f ( x , y ) {\displaystyle z=f(x,y)} used to study topography has an associate studiable Series of Surfaces z = f ( x , y , t ) {\displaystyle z=f(x,y,t)} used to study the evolution of topography (e.g., heat distortion of a surface). Mountains analyses the following basic data types:

History of versions Digital Surf launched their first (2D) surface analysis software package in 1990 for MS-DOS ("DigiProfil 1.0"), then their first 3D surface analysis package in 1991 for Macintosh II ("DigiSurface 1.0"). Version 1.0 of MountainsMap was launched in September 1996, introducing a change in the name after a move of the editor to Windows from MsDos and Macintosh platforms. Version 5.0 introduced the management of multi-layers images. It was a move to Confocal microscopy (analysis of topography+color as a single object as opposed to separate objects in former versions), and to SPM image analysis (analysis of topography+current, topography+phase, topography+force as a single image).

Version 6.0 completed the specialization of the platform per instrument type. For Version 6.0 the company teamed with a group of alpinists to launch the new version at the summit of the Makalu mountain. A special logo was created for this marketing event. The expedition was successful and Alexia Zuberer, a French and Swiss mountaineer was then the first Swiss woman to reach the summit of the Makalu, Sandrine de Choudens, a French PhD in chemistry being the first French woman to succeed Version 7.0 was unveiled in September 2012 at the European Microscopy Congress in Manchester, UK. It expanded the list of instruments supported, in particular with new Scanning electron microscope 3D reconstruction software and hyperspectral data analysis (such as Raman and FT-IR hyperspectral cube analysis). Version 7.2 (February 2015) introduces near real-time 3D topography reconstruction for scanning electron microscopes Version 7.3 (January 2016) adds fast colorization of scanning electron microscope images based on object-oriented image segmentation. Version 7.4 (January 2017) offers 3D reconstruction from a single SEM image, and enhanced 3D printing Version 8.0 (June 2019) is the successor of both Mountains 7.4 and SPIP 6.7 software packages ("SPIP" standing for "Scanning Probe Image Processor") after the acquisition by Digital Surf of the Danish company Image Metrology A/S, the editor of SPIP. Version 8.0 also introduces the analysis of free form surfaces, called "Shells" in the software. Version 9.0 (June 2021) completes the "shells" (free form surfaces) with surface texture analysis adapted from the ISO 25178 parameters already calculated on the standard surfaces. It also comes with a new product line, "MountainsSpectral", dedicated to the chemical mapping of elements in both 2D (images of chemical composition) and 3D (multi-channel tomography of chemical composition), with applications such as FIB-SEM EDX (X-Ray analysis coupled with focused ion beam tomography) or confocal Raman (Raman analysis in confocal microscopy) Version 10.0 (June 2023) completes the list of supported microscopes with Light Microscopes, and introduces new features such as CAD-comparison of free-form surfaces ("shells"), aspherics lens analysis.

Instruments supported

Illustrations

Mountains 6 - Makalu 2010 event logo

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MountainsMap

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MountainsMap claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MountainsMap before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MountainsMap ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MountainsMap

In research: MountainsMap appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MountainsMap in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MountainsMap is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1996 software, Data analysis software, Image processing software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MountainsMap outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study MountainsMap in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MountainsMap means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MountainsMap out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MountainsMap in simple terms?

Why does MountainsMap matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MountainsMap?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MountainsMap.