PROPOSAL OF A METHODOLOGY FOR REMOTE ACCESS TO SOURCE MATERIALS FOR 3D SCANNING OF MUSEUM OBJECTS BY THE SFM METHOD

The present work deals with the problem of cost-effective creation of 3D models of museum objects while obtaining source materials from distant museums that do not have facilities for advanced 3D scanning.

The issue of digitisation of museum collections, including the 3D technology, is currently being undertaken by the leading centres of heritage protection in Europe and worldwide. Obtaining high-quality 3D models, however, is costly and time-consuming, which excludes at this stage less developed institutions. Despite that, technological progress allows to obtain low-cost scans of historical objects suitable for the promotional purposes of a given unit or region, e.g. by presenting virtual expositions on the Internet.

The authors set themselves the goal of testing the hypothesis that in the case of scanning museum objects for promotional purposes the role of a museum can be reduced to obtaining the source data, carried out by its employees after hearing the instructional materials. This would enable the less developed establishments to obtain 3D model exhibits without incurring significant costs of professional scanning and at their own convenience time. The same processing and generation of models could be pursued by the central organization without physical contact with the exhibits.

The implementation of the issue benefited from cooperation of museum institutions in Lublin (Poland) and Samarkand (Uzbekistan). On the basis of earlier work, the authors chose the Structure From Motion (SFM) scanning method as requiring the least financial investment and minimal staff training needs. Then the methodology of the acquisition process of source data and appropriate training materials were developed.

The quality of the methodology and training materials was first tested (on site), confronting a test group consisting of museum staff and students with the task of obtaining the source data of 3 different exhibits. Each participant had to obtain the test data on his/her own using training materials. In the course of the study the time was measured in which a specific task was completed, and the quality of the data and the completeness of the coverage of the object was evaluated. Survey data were also collected about the transparency of the instruction and the evaluation of the task difficulty.

This was followed by the actual test, where the staff (museum in Samarkand) provided the raw data from their chosen objects, based on the instructions of the training materials. These data were used to perform 3D models of objects. Also collected survey data about the affordability of instruction and evaluation of the task difficulty.

The results of this study allow to conclude that the proposed methodology for remote access to source materials for the purpose of 3D scanning proved to be successful. It is possible to achieve in this way 3D models of museum objects for presentation purposes, without having to engage in the location of these objects with specialised equipment and experts in the field of scanning. The widespread availability of this type of scanning solutions allows to expand the offer of museums by virtual exhibitions.