A consortium comprising Mainz University of Applied Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, and the Saxon State Library – State and University Library Dresden is pleased to announce that a second funding phase for the development of a national research infrastructure for 3D models in the humanities has been successfully secured.
3D reconstructions of the cathedrals in Mainz, Worms, and Speyer around 1250, the dome of the New Synagogue in Wroclaw from 1872, the wooden synagogue in Volpa, and the first steam engine are examples of numerous digital models that are stored in various web-based storage locations referred to as repositories. Computer-aided 3D reconstruction has been used in the humanities for many years as a tool for research and the transfer of knowledge. However, the provision and dissemination of digital 3D models and their metadata remains a challenge. A lack of established standards and infrastructures has made the scientific handling of 3D models difficult to date. The extension of the DFG 3D viewer is intended to change this in the future.
The browser-based 3D viewer infrastructure developed in the first funding phase provides the basis for the simple transfer and display of 3D data and the corresponding metadata. The prototype application was developed in the period from April 2021 to June 2023 under the direction of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Piotr Kuroczyński (Professor of Applied Informatics and Visualization in Civil Engineering, Mainz), Prof. Dr. Sander Münster (Junior Professor of Digital Humanities, Jena), and Sebastian Meyer (IT Strategy Unit, Dresden) and tested in a 3D repository at Mainz University of Applied Sciences in teaching and research. The infrastructure is currently used in teaching in the ongoing EU project Computer-based Visualization of Architectural Cultural Heritage at four partner universities.
Integration of additional data repositories and viewer architectures
The second funding phase builds on the success of the beta version of a web-based and freely accessible 3D viewer. It will focus on connecting additional repositories to the 3D viewer. In addition, the flexibility of the modular system will undergo further development, including a selection of different web-based 3D viewers, technologies for metadata enrichment, and data conversion.
Planned results of this phase include the further development of the system architecture, the provision of the software stack in an easily reusable form, the development of training documents and user manuals, and the testing of an evaluation framework for assessing and monitoring user requirements. In addition, the integration of four relevant repositories is planned:
- Semantic Kompakkt (TIB – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology and University Library)
- HeidICON (Heidelberg University Library)
- NFDI4Ing Data Ingest Service (The University and State Library Darmstadt)
- Kulthura (Thuringian University and State Library)
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Piotr Kuroczyński, Head of the Institute of Architecture at Mainz University of Applied Sciences: “The second funding phase marks a significant step in the continued development of our 3D viewer infrastructure. We are grateful for the support of the German Research Foundation and look forward to further improving the accessibility and use of 3D models in the humanities.”
The consortium from Mainz, Jena, and Dresden is confident that the second funding phase will help continue to pave the way for the DFG 3D viewer to become the standard viewer for 3D reconstructions and computer-based 3D visualizations. The project will run from May 2024 to April 2026 and is being funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with around 700,000 Euro.
