CultArm3D – Digitisation in 3D

In the museum world there is a growing demand for exhibited objects to be digitised at top quality. Fraunhofer IGD (Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research) has developed the CultArm3D scanner. For top quality, Fraunhofer IGD works together with the Danish camera manufacturer Phase One, whose camera system developed for flat-object digitisation it uses. The development of CultArm3D offers a unique opportunity to museums. 3D scanning allows institutions to enter the digital space. Thus those interested can view the digitised treasures in top quality without physically visiting the site.

Pedro Santos, head of Fraunhofer IGD, and his team have been working with 3D scanning technology and the digitisation of cultural heritage for years. According to Santos, 3D models are becoming especially important for researchers, as they help in getting to know historical objects better. They also serve as the basis for visualising art treasures displayed in extended reality, and 3D prints almost identical to the real thing can also be made from these captures. The work of researchers is also greatly aided by CultArm3D, because scientists can compare different objects at will.

During development the research institute placed great emphasis on safety, which is especially important with valuable objects. Besides being old, objects are fragile, and in many cases breakable too. Among the precautions, for example, is that in the event of a power cut the scanning arm locks, thus protecting the object to be digitised. In designing the device the experts also took care to produce the best-quality digital 3D content, and so the choice fell on the Phase One IXG 100 megapixel camera system. The CultArm3D system is repeatable and offers excellent quality, because it uses adaptive view planners to digitise objects. For perfect illumination the camera was fitted with a special lamp, which makes it possible to photograph the object from every angle in the shortest possible time. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges of 3D digitisation is that no two art treasures have the same size and surface. Works with different coverings, reflective surfaces, and objects made of bronze or, for example, gold all require special attention during digitisation. The necklace in the picture is a purely virtual model, showing from left to right how the necklace is built up and how the digital copy with the final texture is created. (image: Keltenwelt am Glauberg/Fraunhofer IGD, 2021.)

CultArm3D is simple to operate and easy for museum staff to handle. During development the institute set the goal that people working in museums should be able to use the device independently. After the initial software settings, users reach a short calibration process, which they only have to carry out once. For digitisation, after that only one button needs to be pressed and the object on the object table starts to rotate. The digital 3D copy of the object can be downloaded in various file formats. CultArm3D is already used in numerous museums and archives.

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Source: https://www.3dnatives.com/en/cultarm3d-can-scan-cultural-objects-in-3d-260220215/