There are plans to expand to a gigapano platform as well, which wouldn't be terribly difficult. I'm waiting until I have functional motorized axes together that can be had for a low price before expanding the scope =)
Yes, it requires motor drivers that have step/dir interfaces, like easydriver, probotix, gecko, etc. This allows one to use the right hardware for their solution (i.e. a large crane style automated jib wouldn't work very well with direct-driven steppers from the arduino, but it would work great with some beefy gecko's and AC steppers =)
As for pictures- what would you like to see? Pictures of a setup, or end-result? Right now I've been running an old hardware setup for all testing purposes, and here's a picture of it:
It's just a one-axis system with all of the guts for a three-axis system =)
As for worm gearing, have you checked out sdp-si? They have a great selection of worms and worm gears at a fairly inexpensive price. I've been making my parts lists and getting the parts drawings for the prototype designs I'm working on from them, and have been able to design a 175:1 worm gear setup (based around NEMA 14 steppers from anaheim automation) that part out completely (minus enclosure materials and machining) for about $120/axis. That would make it, in theory, about 42lbs of torque at final output, and a minimum rotational step of about 0.0019 degrees per step w/ an easydriver and 1.8 degree stepper.
Right now I'm working on some tutorials for the beginning DIY'er, while I wait to finish saving the cash to get my CNC system completed. I think there are a lot of great examples of how to do things out there for the newbie (certainly, I learned from a lot of them), but they don't explain how and why they were designed the way they were. I guess you could say that I'm surreptitiously defending all design concepts I've made through tutorials that show different ways of doing things, and their strengths/weaknesses =)
It's still fairly early in the life of the project, with a few people already using the software in their own hardware designs.
At least one other person, Dan Thompson, is contributing his own take, with a direct control interface between Maya and a multi-axis rig.
!c