EU-funded project PERCEIVE: Fraunhofer IGD solutions for ancient art and its coloring.
Research project PERCEIVE
Reconstructing the coloring of historical art and making it tangible: The EU-funded research project PERCEIVE aims to develop a new way of perceiving, exhibiting and researching old works. Fraunhofer IGD is supporting the project as a scientific and technical coordinator with the development of an artificial intelligence (AI), which, for example, traces the changes in color over the past centuries and also models it for the future. The research project has now started with a kick-off event in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples and two days of joint coordination between all project partners on site. In just three years, museums and art historians should be able to use various tools and associated AI services in practice.
Hardly anything remains today of the colorful design of ancient Greek sculptures, and the fabric of velvet-covered armchairs from previous centuries also fades over time. Works of art are often protected in museums today by glass cases and cords – from careless touches and inquisitive children’s hands. However, they can hardly be protected from the incidence of light, for example, which has an influence on the coloring over the years. As a scientific partner in the PERCEIVE research project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD is developing an AI that both reconstructs the original color design of the work of art and predicts its future state. In addition to sculptures, the project also focuses on paintings, textiles, historical photos and digital art.
Intelligent scanning instead of manual modelling
The first step in research at Fraunhofer IGD starts with material reconstruction in order to obtain information about the surface. “The AI makes it possible to build reflectance models in a virtual environment,” explains Pavel Rojtberg, who heads the project for Fraunhofer IGD. So far, these have been created with a complex, real setup of cameras and light sources. This procedure does not apply to the AI-based solution. “That saves time and financial resources,” adds Rojtberg. Reflections and shadows cast on the respective materials such as velvet or silk can be estimated on the basis of just a few pictures, which are taken with a smartphone, for example.
The AI, which has already been trained, then shows within a few seconds how the work of art and its colors appear in different light incidences – regardless of whether it is the textile robe of British Queen Victoria or a stone statue from the Roman Empire. In addition, the technology will be able to automatically segment geometric data to determine which part of a chair is made of wood and which is made of fabric.
Historical photographs as a basis
The basis for the subsequent estimation of the color change over time are historical photographs, recordings from multispectral cameras or chemical-physical properties of colors that serve as comparison values. The software can also predict what the work of art will look like in fifty or one hundred years, depending on the incidence of light. Meanwhile, the solutions will not only be applicable for digital remodeling, but also for actual physical repairs. This allows you to predict when this will be necessary due to the progressive fading of the colors.
The Fraunhofer team will develop an alpha version of the AI technology by the end of 2024, and it should be usable for museums and researchers in three years. “The implemented tools will be purely web and service-based, so that they can be used not only on site in the museums via augmented reality, but also for virtual exhibitions,” explains Holger Graf, head of the Virtual and Augmented Reality department.
Additional information:
https://www.igd.fraunhofer.de/de/branchen/Kultur-und-Kreativ.html
About Fraunhofer IGD:
Since 1987, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD has been setting international standards for applied research in visual computing, image and model-based computer science. We transform information into images and images into information and support industry and business in developing strategically. Keywords are human-machine interaction, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, interactive simulation, modeling as well as 3D printing and 3D scanning. Around 190 researchers at the three locations in Darmstadt, Rostock and Kiel are generating new technological application solutions and prototypes for Industry 4.0, digital health care and the “Smart City”. Our products develop international relevance through cooperation with our sister institutes in Graz and Klagenfurt. With the help of our matrix organization, we serve our customers from a wide variety of industries with relevant technical and competitive services. For this we have industry-experienced, cross-functional teams of experts who also take over planning, management and evaluation for all project sizes.
Contact
Fraunhofer Institute for Graphic Data Processing IGD
Daniela Welling
Fraunhoferstraße 5
64283 Darmstadt
+49 6151 155-146
https://www.igd.fraunhofer.de