Spatial Heritage Review Issue #9, July 2024
Your monthly review of all things 3D and cultural heritage.
Hi, hello, and welcome!
I appreciate my publishing schedule is slipping a bit: the summer holidays are upon us here in the UK and things are busy. As always, however, please scroll on for a review of spatial heritage happenings from July 2024—there is some truly great stuff this month!
I’ve had a busy month too, digitising a space station module in 3D (no, really!), getting interviewed a couple of times, and working on some local projects... If you’re interested to learn more, I’ve written about all that here.
I’m also glad to have another guest post this month (see below), and of course I continue to gather my weekly collections celebrating newly published cultural & historical 3D models.
Wishing you all the very best until next month,
Tom
Guest Post:
Documenting Palestine's Architectural Heritage: A Digital Archive Initiative
This month Kareem Yahia, social entrepreneur and the founder of OpenVL, shares his work building a digital architectural heritage archive.
Immersive Exhibitions, Interactive Tours, Online Experiences
There’s a lot happening in this section last month, but I want to highlight The Hiroshima Archive which “features approximately 170 testimonials and 150 photographs that can be viewed [online]. The purpose of the archive is to convey the complex realities surrounding the atomic bombing in a realistic way.”, helping mark the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan. via hwtnv
Other powerful uses of spatial tech this month include the launch of LGTBIQ+ Archive (via Giravolt), the forensic analysis of the killing of Hind Rajab, Robin Hood’s tree comes back to life (via 3DOMFBK), and Ukraine in Miniature (via Skeiron). ~ Tom
VR
FEATURED “Museumpark Orientalis: we participate in the Treasury of Gelderland! Travel through time in a challenging VR Game in our education room.” video teaser | more info via Museumpark Orientalis
AR / XR
FEATURED “Snapchat has a long history of partnering with the arts. Today, we’re excited to announce Ghost Variations, an augmented reality experience featured as part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City” link via Snap AR
ALSO “Tower Bridge is celebrating its 130th anniversary – and Smartify has created an unique AR experience to mark the occasion!” via Smartify
Interactive & Games
FEATURED “Announcing Netherworld, an ancient Egyptian Travel Simulator!” via Luke Hollis / Mused
ALSO “Bringing a touch of opera hall class to the likes of Beat Saber and Trombone Champ, Maestro is a VR rhythm conducting game for Quest 2, 3, and Steam VR” link via Sidequest
‘Maestro’ is one of the VR experiences that I’ve really enjoyed, it’s a great match of technology and historical content (music composed hundreds of years ago) ~ Tom
3D printing, CNC, & Physical Reproductions
FEATURED “The making of Fern the Diplodocus: Engineering meets natural history” link | also via Dr Ellen Coombs
ALSO “BeauCoup: Art Accessible and Mobile [...] Barrier-free access to art” more info | link via Marcus Morba
Software, Hardware, & Technology
Lots of updates and releases this month but I want to highlight the launch of RapidPipeline, the refresh of RapidCompact, an excellent online service for automated 3D mesh optimisation. This month they also “built a Google Page Speed Analyzer, but for 3D”—why not throw one of your 3D files in there and see how it scores? :)
Articles, Publications, Presentations, Courses, Jobs
Lots of things to learn from this month, including:
“User Research: UK Gallery, Library, Archive and Museum (GLAM) Digital Collections Infrastructure” link via Cultural Digital
“[Report] KYOTO Design Lab 10th Anniversary Symposium Dynamic Heritage - A New Methodology for Cultural Heritage Preservation” link via ToshikuniM
“Shaping the future of 3D interoperability with the IIIF Community” link via TimeMachienEU
Events
Added to the directory this month:
5-6 August 2024, JP
Workshop to learn about Nagasaki history using educational version of Minecraft more info via hwtnv
26-27 September 2024, DE
eCommemoration Convention 2024 more info via eCommemoration Körber-Stiftung
25-27 March 2025, HR
Cultural Heritage Imaging & Innovation Conference 2025 more info | call for papers
25-29 August 2025, KR
CIPA 2025 Seoul: Heritage Conservation from Bits more info via CIPA Heritage Documentation
Surveys
“Calling all 3D-based researchers! We'd like your feedback on how to improve the publication and evaluation of 3D projects.” link via PURE3D
Help us to map European data infrastructures for 3D cultural heritage link via Europeana
“The MorphoSource Team is investigating ways that we can improve and expand support for cultural heritage data on MorphoSource.” link via Mieke Roth
Meemoo Flemish Institute for Archives 3D Scans & Objects Survey link
“Museums in the Metaverse needs your help to understand how audiences might use virtual museums.” survey via Museums in the Metaverse
[FR] “Call for testimonies on your professional use of 3D models related to heritage” link via BIBRACTE EPCC
Miscellaneous 3D
AI
FEATURED “We are thrilled to announce the latest addition to ENGAGE XR's School of AI: the legendary artist Vincent Van Gogh.” via Tomas K.
Gaussian Splats & NeRFs
“LixelCyberColor meets the Jurassic Age.” via XGRIDS
Meshes & Point Clouds
“Creating a 3D model of Mount Fanjing!” via DJI
Reconstructions, 3D Illustrations, & Renders
“Virtual exploration of the royal city of Loches” via Nicolas Trültzsch