Completed Research by Prof. Dr. Hess at University College London (2008-2017)

3DIMPact online: D2U Grant, UCL Enterprise

UCL Enterprise Knowledge Exchange Grant (Discovery to Use program) of £50,000 including match-funding from two commercial sponsors for the development of a 3DIMPact Online academy and Knowledge database about Metrology. Collaboration with UCL CEGE with Publisher Geomares (NL) and SENAI (Brazil).

EU COSCH - Colour and Space in Cultural Heritage, Working Group II: Spatial Object Documentation. Case study: Multi-modal imaging of Roman coins

EU COSCH Action: Colour and Space in Cultural Heritage. Part of Working Group II: Spatial Object Documentation. The main objective of this COST Action is to promote research, development and application of optical measurement techniques – adapted to the needs of heritage documentation – based on an interdisciplinary cooperation, on a concerted European level and to offer a novel and reliable, independent and global knowledge base facilitating the use of today's and future optical measuring techniques to support the documentation of European heritage. Part of COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is one of the longest-running European frameworks supporting cooperation among  scientists and researchers across Europe.

Wel(l)come@3D - knowledge exchange in 3D imaging technology, 3D printing and dissemination of archival and collection objects , Knowledge Exchange Champion, UCL Enterprise

Principal investigator, UCL Enterprise Knowledge Exchange Grant plus match funding by the partner Wellcome Trust for a collaborative project on in-house capacity building of 3D imaging in collections. "Wel(l)come@3D". Collaboration of UCL CEGE with UCL Digital Humanities, partnering with the Welcome Trust.

Stamp printing plates, dies and rollers–from vault to view

The British Postal Museum & Archive [BPMA] has a comprehensive record of stamp production in the UK from the introduction of the world’s first stamp, the Penny Black. BPMA holds approximately 1300 dies and rollers from the stamp printing process and 280 printing plates. These objects, made of metal, provide a fuller context for the cycle of stamp production. The objective for this project is to provide access to these very valuable objects. The aim is to capture these finely engraved printing plates, rollers and dies as 3D digital objects. These objects pose a challenge for 3D digitization since they are manufactured mainly from steel with high reflectance, making them difficult to measure with optical surface technologies. A public outreach event will be qualitative evaluation and feedback from the public and researchers through user testing of a public delivery with selected objects from the feasibility study. The 15 Share Academy projects 2013-2014 aim to build sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships between the higher education sector and specialist museums in London.

More information about Shareacademy
More information about the British Postal Museum and Archive
Collaborators and more information on the project

3DPetrie: 3D imaging research, digital applications and use of new technologies in the museum

3DPetrie at the UCL Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology: 3D imaging research and use of new technologies in the museum. 3DPetrie is researching the viability of using high quality 3D images of museum collections to engage a range of audiences through the production of 3D models of Petrie Museum  artefacts and the development of end-user digital 3D applications.

Publication

Re-engineering Watt: 3D laser scan and 3D printing in museum artefact documentation

Re-engineering Watt: A case study and best practice recommendations for 3D colour laser scans and 3D printing in museum artefact documentation. The project completed the full production cycle from an original negative plaster cast to the final product in the form of a physical exhibition replica of a newly discovered bust of James Watt. The replica has been accessioned and exhibited by the Science Museum, London, in "James Watt and our World".

More information on the projekt
The project in the media
Publication

British Museum War Canoe - 3D virtual reconstruction and digital repatriation

3D digital documentation of a highly significant cultural heritage object from the Melanesian Southwest Pacific, held in the ethnographic collections of the British Museum. The object, which dates from about 1910, is a large plank-built war canoe from the island of Vella Lavella in New Georgia, Solomon Islands. 3D laser scanning is paired with anthropological research, which aims to deliver a holistic virtual 3D reconstruction and multimedia interactive delivery of the boat for the digital repatriation to the source community.Collaboration: University of Bergen, Norway; British Museum, London.

Publication

Play it again SAM. Design with Heritage.

The project will investigate issues of authenticity of historic objects and the relationship between original and reproduction(s), in particular digital reproduction, by making a reproduction of a kinetic interactive work. The project will use SAM (Sound Activated Mobile), by Edward Ihnatowicz (1968), as an exemplar by 3D scanning the existing artefact, constructing a 3D virtual model and validating the model by 3D printing the constituent parts. Design with Heritage is a twelve-month Knowledge Exchange project supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The aim of the project is to develop connections between designers, academic researchers, and arts and heritage institutions by identifying shared interests and creating opportunities for collaboration.

E-Curator: 3D colour scans for remote object identification and assessment

The project 'E-Curator: 3D colour scans for remote object identification and assessment' was a one-year project from 2007 to 2008 at UCL Museums and Collections. This project draws on UCL's expertise both in curatorship and in e-Science. It takes advantage of the presence at UCL of world class collections across a range of disciplines and of a state of the art colour scanner, the quality of which is unequalled in the UK. The project explores the use of 3D colour scanning and e-Science technologies to capture and share very large 3D colour scans and detailed datasets about museum artefacts in a secure computing environment. The combination of these technologies could assist curators and conservators in object identification and assessment, both locally and remotely. The E-Curator project was jointly funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Arts and Humanities e-Science Support Centre (AHESSC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). The aim of this project is to bring together, through workshops, practical sessions and conferences, as well as in an edited publication, museum conservators, educators, scientists, curators and other professionals from the higher education and museum sectors who are interested in this technology and its implications across the heritage sector.

Publication