The OPERA experiment, designed to conclusively prove the existence of $rm u_mu to u_tau$ oscillations in the atmospheric sector, makes use of a massive lead-nuclear emulsion target to observe the appearance of $rm u_tau$s in the CNGS $rm u_mu$ beam. The location and analysis of the neutrino interactions in quasi real-time required the development of fast computer-controlled microscopes able to reconstruct particle tracks with sub-micron precision and high efficiency at a speed of 20 cm^2 / h. This paper describes the performance in particle track reconstruction of the European Scanning System, a novel automatic microscope for the measurement of emulsion films developed for OPERA.
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