How Can Digital Technologies Be Harnessed For Preserving the Past?

Construction Tech Review | Thursday, October 17, 2019

It is a well-known fact that digital technologies are transforming our lives day by day. These technologies are now being used in breaking down the silos in sectors like cultural heritage as well. How?

FREMONT, CA: History is evidence that art has always utilized innovative thinking and the latest technologies. Leonardo da Vinci invested both time and money to understand, analyze, and invent different things, ranging from painting pigments to new musical instruments. Similarly, the world is now experiencing brilliant exhibitions by utilizing cutting edge augmented and virtual reality, preservation, and conservation digital tools that rely on 3D modeling, and online access promoting engagement from larger audiences.

However, cultural heritage is facing a lot of challenges in terms of its preservation. The rich heritage of the world is facing many risks from floods, earthquakes, and pollution. In addition to it, vandalism, theft, and deterioration over time is also a matter of concern. These types of dangers are indications that there is an immense need for digital technologies for recording, documenting, and preserving cultural heritage.

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Picking up the pieces utilizing 3D modeling 

In 2009, an earthquake struck L'Aquila in the area of Abruzzo, central Italy, which destroyed homes and lives of thousands and hundreds of people. It also affected historic buildings, art, and sculptures. As a result, the Madonna of Pietranico, a Renaissance terracotta statue, was acutely damaged and broken into many pieces. The job of its restoration was handled by the European 3DCOFORM project in alliance with the Abruzzo’s Cultural Heritage Superintendent and other partners. The project developed 3D scanning, processing, and visualization tools, whose accuracy made it possible to virtually place all the broken pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle. This reduced the requirement to tackle them physically, thus preventing any further damage and making it convenient to analyze different reassembly options. Hence, conservators finally succeeded in undertaking the complex task of reconstructing the statue of Madonna and restoring its surface. Computer scientists and conservators achieved a remarkable restoration by working together.

The restoration of the Madonna statue is a significant example of how a modern restoration project can be designed and implemented by using 3D scanning, virtual-reassembly, geometric processing, visual analysis, and many other emerging technologies. The outcome of the project proved the significance of collaboration between partners with backgrounds completely different from each other. It also showed how impactful and practical the application of modern technology solutions could be for preserving and conserving cultural heritage.

Past civilizations can be brought back to life

Technology is not only helpful in restoring lost heritage but can also be used for recreating it. For example, an extraordinary i-MareCulture project assists the people in experiencing underwater archaeology. People can have a trip to the Roman villa, which is buried in the Mediterranean Sea for centuries, through augmented reality and virtual reality. The content it has built will also be utilized in creating educational games with 3D libraries of amphorae and ships, and excavation games. In this way, school children will be able to learn more about their heritage.

The technology can be put at the heritage’s service in many other ways, as well. For instance, the Time Machine project will aid in processing millions of historical documents, landscapes, paintings, monuments, and more for building a large-scale historical simulator, which will map 2000 years of European history. This can revolutionize the tourism industry by developing new experiences at the point where the physical and digital world intersect. The project will also equip social science and humanities researchers with new superpowers. They will be able to utilize these virtual reality interfaces as historical search engines for navigating two millennia of European history.

The digital technologies possess a considerable potential to restore worldwide cultural heritage. The researchers are looking for new ways to make digital technologies more advanced so that people can continue to enjoy their rich heritage.

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