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Aurore Mathys

Biology
Biological collection and data management

3Dspectral

Revealing secrets: Multispectral 3D digitization of Cultural Heritage and Natural History Collections

 

Most digitization projects try to document and duplicate collection specimens as we humans observe them. But how certain specimens or objects are perceived by humans is qualitative and individually different, and might therefore not be the most accurate perception as we can’t see in the ultraviolet (UV), nor the infrared (IR) spectrum. Multispectral, including UV and IR, can help uncover hidden patterns, enhance details, record transparent surfaces, reveal what is invisible to the naked human eye. This proposal aims to produce and evaluate the value of 3D and RTI combined with multispectral for cultural heritage objects and natural sciences specimens from fieldwork to collections. The project will analyse the input of multispectral 3D and multispectral RTI over classic multispectral 2D imaging and over classic (visible light) 3D and RTI recording. A certain number of wavelengths from UV, visible and IR will be chosen following tests on the case studies in order to respond to museum needs. They will be used for the low-cost multispectral portable light setup for 3D and RTI digitisation that will be developed during the project. The project will be a collaboration between RMCA and RBINS as these institutions are already partners in many digitization projects and have similar scope. University College London will help by contributing to metric methods and evaluation towards a scientific quality assessment of the imaging results.

Principal investigator:

  • Didier Van den Spiegel
  • Dates:

    2017 2019

    External collaborators:

    Patrick Semal RBINS
    Mona Hess (University Bamberg)