Dr Ine Jacobs has been awarded a Knowledge Exchange Fellowship in the latest round of applications to the TORCH KE Fellowship Scheme.
Dr Jacobs' project, 3D modelling with camera phones, is inspired by the need for millimetre-accurate 3D digitization models to carry out a research project on late antique architectural decoration. Such high-quality 3D modelling is currently executed by expert teams with specialist training using expensive equipment. By contrast, current ‘crowd-sourced’ photogrammetry often enables only the simple visualisation of objects, rather than providing detailed data such as measurements and surface details.
This project will capitalize on recent technological improvements in the quality of camera phones and the availability of open-source software to bring the creation of fast, cheap, and high-quality 3D models within reach of researchers, curators, and heritage organisations. Dr Jacobs will cooperate with the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory (http://www.vwhl.org/) that has a long history of applying 3D simulations both as interactive illustrations and heuristic instruments. The VWHL is already involved with the digitization of museum pieces, including the complete collection of Greek and Roman sculpture in the Uffizi, and will now translate its expertise to make high-quality 3D models more readily available to heritage specialists and enthusiasts.
