This week’s Feature Friday is all about the impressive Scan the World initiative. Jonathan Beck, who manages MyMiniFactory’s Scan the World, tells us what it’s all about and why it is important.
So Jonathan, tell us what exactly is the Scan the World initiative?
Scan the World is a community-built project that I've been managing since June 2014. Simply put, the intention of the initiative is to archive culture from around the world, making it free for anyone to explore, download and 3D print. Every object is sourced from scanned data contributed by members of the community; this data is then processed and given dedicated time with my team of talented freelancers who make every model 3D printable. Each object is then test printed before being uploaded to MyMiniFactory. We then send the print to the person who scanned it as a means of saying thank you!
What is scanning and how does it work?
3D scanning is the process of collecting geometric data from a physical object and creating a digital representation of it. As Scan the World is a non-profit initiative, obtaining this scanned data needed to be as cost effective and accessible as possible yet still being able to maintain a high quality output.
For these reasons we encourage the use of photogrammetry within the community. Photogrammetry is the process of connecting a series of overlapping photographs using a smartphone or any digital camera to reconstruct a three dimensional representation. The technology of ‘triangulation’ has been used for over a century but has risen in popularity with the recent increased accessibility of digital photography and 3D modelling/printing.
To learn how to use photogrammetry, take a look at this tutorial.
What is Scan the World being used for?
Since starting the project I've found the applications for 3D scanning and 3D printing in cultural heritage is incredibly vast:
Accessibility
Being such a cheap means of producing accurate representations of artifacts, Scan the World offers to break down the walls of the art institution to allow the visually impaired to engage with culture. Traditionally museums will enforce the rule of ‘don’t touch the artwork’ which means it is very difficult for the visually impaired to get anything from the museum.
Scan the World will help someone living in Australia, for example, wanting to explore the collection of the Rodin Museum in Paris, but can’t afford to travel. The virtual archive allows people to ‘visit’ a museum’s collection, print and engage with it. Similarly for someone who has visited a particular museum, they can create their own ‘postcard’ of their visit.
The Shade at The Musée Rodin, Paris
If someone wants to preserve their culture digitally, with the accessibility of cost-effective new technologies, it’s possible for anyone to scan and share their culture with the world.
Education
Many schools are starting to think about how 3D technologies can be useful for their students. There is added pressure to encourage students to learn new digital technologies. On one side, Scan the World gives the ability to teach about the technology, from generating a digital representation of a scene or object by means of photography and photogrammetry software and the manipulation of it using modelling and sculpting software to the output of 3D printing.
Herd of Deer in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris and Hatshepsut Sphinx at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Additionally, it teaches students about the actual artworks. It’s important to be present with the piece and focus on it as you sketch it, it’s better to see it in 3D as opposed to 2D as it’s easier to understand what the artist is trying to portray. Physically touching and moving it to study the transitions of space, angles and light will benefit students.
Cultural Heritage
Cultural heritage is crucial to how we see ourselves as people. It reflects our long historical legacy as human beings and gives people a sense of identity and a shared past. It comes in many forms, whether that be in a particular belief, object, ritual or tradition.
Apollo and Daphne at the Galleria Borghese, Rome and Family Group at The Tate Britain, London
To lose one’s cultural heritage is to lose one’s identity. This loss has become increasingly apparent in recent times with natural disasters and human conflicts. It is Scan the World’s intention, simply, to help preserve endangered cultural heritage digitally with the aid of new technologies and 3D printing, approaching this issue on a fundamentally humanist approach to protect global cultural heritage, not to share business cards or create an artist manifesto.
Contemporary artists
With the development of 3D scanning and 3D printing technologies, it’s becoming more important to consider what it means in the world of contemporary art. Much like how musicians progressively moved from busking on the street to recording themselves and uploading them onto YouTube, contemporary artists can find their place in MyMiniFactory. Obviously this is still at a very early stage, but we would like to encourage contemporary artists and theorists to get involved with the discussion of how freely distributed, virtual representations of art effects artists and the industry as a whole.
Protestors at the Middelheim Museum and Young Dancer at the Royal Opera Hall, London
Engaging with the community
From ‘scan-a-thons’ and meetups to seminars and lectures, Scan the World stands as a means of informing people about 3D scanning and 3D printing with a focus on cultural heritage and encouraging them to try it out for themselves! Instead of taking one picture for your Flickr, why not take 50 and create a digital postcard of it!
Mini scan-a-thon at the British Museum
So how can people get involved with Scan the World?
I work with the community, for the community and (sometimes) with the permission of museums! Of course, if you want to join me on my quest to archive the world’s culture and share it, get in touch! My email address is [email protected] and you can find Scan the World on Twitter @scan_the_world