Presentation by Franco Niccolucci, Andrea D'Andrea and Sheena Bassett about the 3D ICONS project given at VSMM 2012. 3D ICONS is digitising world heritage sites in 3D and preparing content for publication online to be made available via Europeana.

1. World Heritage Sites for Europeana
Franco Niccolucci, Andrea
D’Andrea, Kate Fernie and
Sheena Bassett
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission‘s CIP ICT PSP programme

2. Introduction
Overview
 About Europeana
 The 3D-Icons Project
 Objectives
 Targeted content
 IPR Issues
 3D-ICONS Technologies
 Scanning, data acquisition, 3D model construction,
metadata and harvesting
 Innovative aspects and aspirations
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

3. What is Europeana?
A huge database of information about digital content
(metadata) held by European cultural heritage institutions
– Funded by the European Commission
– Supplied by a range of Best Practice and other Pilot projects as well as
directly by (larger) institutions
Catalyst for new content services
– Europeana services and tools, standards, Linked Open Data, …
– Hackathons – new content-based apps.
Source of exhibitions (engaging the public)
Network of cultural heritage organisations and expertise
Evolving - going from the ESE (Europeana Semantic Elements)
schema to the EDM (Europeana Data Model) with planned
future releases
One-stop-shop and showcase for digitised cultural heritage.
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

4. Current Status of Europeana
By July 2012
– over 23 million objects
– from more than 2,200 institutions
– from 33 countries.
Predominantly
– Images
– Text
– Audio
– Video
– 3D (just a few but lots more in the pipeline!)
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

5. Content-provider projects
23 current projects:
CARARE (archaeology & architecture), Europeana Fashion,
Digitising Contemporary Art (DCA), ECLAP (performing arts),
EuScreen (TV), Europeana Collections 1914-1918, Europeana
1914-1918, EuroPhoto, Europeana Libraries, Europeana Regia
(manuscripts), HOPE (social history), Europeana Photography,
Natural Europe, Open Up! (bio-diversity) and ThinkMOTION
(science & engineering).
8 completed:
JUDAICA (Jewish history), MIMO (musical instruments),
EuropeanaLocal, European Film Gateway, Biodiversity Heritage
Library for Europe, EuropeanaTravel and two others aimed at
national archives and museums (general content).
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

6. Europeana Exhibition
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

7. 3D in Europeana
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

8. The 3D-ICONS Project
3D-ICONS will bring exciting and engaging 3D models
and constructions to Europeana end users
– Rapid in-roads in gaming, TV and films
– Challenge for Cultural Heritage sector to bring their
3D models used for scientific & research purposes
into the public domain
• 3D real life models of monuments and buildings
• Complete sites such as Pompeii
• Virtual reality models
• Fly-throughs, …
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

9. Objectives
Focus on 3D content:
– Models & reconstructions
– Enlarged models of important features and details
– Related images, texts and videos.
Enable the ‘re-contextulization’ of objects held elsewhere
(e.g. museums)
Enable ‘access’ to inaccessible sites
Digitisation and 3D-scanning of buildings and sites
Conversion of existing 3D content into user-friendly formats
for Europeana end users.
– General public, tourists, students, cultural heritage institutions
who need to produce 3D documentation about their important
monuments and buildings, content providers & SMEs looking
for sustainable business processes.
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

10. Targeted content
16 partners from 11 different countries providing
content:
Pompeii, Italy Newgrange, Ireland
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

11. IPR Issues
Metadata provided to Europeana under CC0 licence
– EDM schema elements
– Based upon the CARARE schema
End user clicks on URL
– Taken to landing page
• Choice of models, formats
• IPR information
Project Consortium Agreement
– Access to IPR unless otherwise
specified in the Annexes.
Advice on how to handle IPR
Sculpture of Cerrillo Blanco
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

12. Technologies
Scanning equipment
– Various technologies in use
3D Data acquisition
– Surveying, modelling, …
3D model construction
– MeshLab, Blender
Creation of 3D models
– CityEngine (3D-COFORM)
Metadata and harvesting
– OAI-PMH compliant repositories, MINT
and MORE tools.
Publication
– 3D-PDF, WebGL, SpiderGL, HTML5.
Pisa
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

13. Innovative aspects
3D-ICONS will use CARARE aggregation service
– ORE OAI aggregation
– Linked Open Data
Production pipeline
– Flexibility in data creation
– Advanced semantics/rich metadata
– Quality assurance
– Business model
• Cost analysis, IPR, organizational models
– Attractiveness for end users.
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

14. The challenges
Suitable formats for end users
– Viewable on home computers, preferably without
plug-ins or installation of special viewers
Reduction and simplification of 3D models
– Without compromising quality and impact
Metadata
– Extension to CARARE schema without over-
complicating but mapable to the EDM
IPR management and business planning
– Advice and recommended approaches
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

15. Work in progress
Survey of current 3D-content:
– Format, current IPR status (simple), size, technologies
and methodologies used, …
Separate survey of current IPR practices
Analysis of monument inventory to decide data
acquisition, post-processing, …
– Each partner to create digitisation schedule
– Case studies
Formats for Europeana
Metadata and thesauri
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

16. Digitisation & scanning
http://www.3dicons-project.eu VSMM 2012

17. Any questions?
Project Manager: Prof. Franco Niccolucci
Email: Niccolucci@unifi.it
http://www.3dicons-project.eu