Automated Crystal Orientation Measurement/Mapping (ACOM) as used in the SEM by unattended interpretation of Backscatter Kikuchi Patterns from bulk surfaces (BKP)* has become an invaluable new technique for the quantitative characterization of microstructure on a grain-specific level. The principal objectives are to relate grain orientations and misorientations directly to grain location in the specimen surface, to determine the character of misorientations and grain/phase boundary planes, and to calculate derived entities such as microtexture and anisotropic local materials properties. These quantities are commonly depicted in pseudo-colors on the scanning grid to form Crystal Orientation Maps (COM) or similar “images” of the microstructure. Stereological as well as orientation related data, as most sensitive indicators of the production process and use of a material, are readily available for basic research and quality control. The three-dimensional representation of microstructure by consecutive sectioning is still a challenge to enable the study of inhomogeneity beneath the surface and the three-dimensional connectivity of multiphase material. Dynamic experiments are a further promising application of this new technique in the SEM.