Anyone, anywhere with Internet access can monitor the progress of construction of the townhouse-style undergraduate apartments, scheduled for Fall 1999 occupancy, by visiting the UB Webcam Web site at <http://webcam.buffalo.edu>.

The viewing experience has been made possible by the University Residence Halls, UB Web Team, Computing and Information Technology and the construction management team overseeing the project, taking place on 10.9 acres bounded by Audubon Parkway and Hadley and Rensch roads.

The Webcam uses a unique software package that allows one visitor at a time to control the camera and to "look" in eight different directions, pan 180 degrees, tilt approximately 70 degrees and zoom-all from the comfort of their own computer.

"The reason we chose this particular software to run the cam was because it gives viewers the chance to control the camera and is almost true-to-life with a new frame every .6 seconds," said William B. Wieners Jr., UB Web Team design architect.

Visitors are allowed two minutes to navigate the Webcam using their mouse and then the viewer who is next in line is prompted to take over. Others visiting the site at the same time watch as the "controller" navigates the Webcam.

Those who want to control the view may have to wait in line to fully experience the Webcam's high tech features. The site, according to Wieners, was hit more than 1,000 times alone in its first week and there have been as many as 50 people on the site at once.

"It is a neat, fun thing intended to build excitement for people connected to the university," said Wieners. "With the amount of changes and advancements going on at UB, one of the problems is that everyone doesn't always know what is going on. This gives people the opportunity to actually be part of what is going on."

He added that each day a still shot is taken at a specific time and saved electronically, which will allow the UB Web Team to put together a time-lapse movie of the housing unit's construction once it is completed.

"Hopefully it will generate excitement among students on-campus since they could be the first occupants," said Donald Erb, residential facilities manager for the University Residence Halls. "People off-campus will visit and realize UB's commitment to on-campus housing by watching the construction of the new units."

Erb added that when the project is complete, the Webcam can be set up in different campus locations to highlight aspects of UB development, including future construction.