Digital Revolution Begins at Mann with Luddy School of Informatics

At Mann, the digital revolution begins with the Luddy School of Informatics at Indiana University.

The project that, over the next five years, will unite the National Archaeological Museum of Naples with the Luddy School of Informatics of the University of Indiana has started: the American institution itself will support the majority of the financial commitment of the research, which will have, explains a note from the Mann, "the aim is not only to digitize, but above all to make immediately accessible to scholars and the public, artifacts far from the lights of the exhibition halls."

This will be discussed today at 17 pm in the Museum's Auditorium, during a roundtable discussion that will also be broadcast live on the Archaeological Museum's official Facebook page, allowing for a focus on the planned work steps.

"The Metamuseum represents a new level of valorization of repositories, bringing together contexts once again, albeit digitally. We are doing so with a new, prestigious international collaboration, in the spirit of shared research with the world.", comments the director of the Mann, Paolo Giulierini.

"The Luddy School is synonymous with large-scale projects that blend technology with the real world and our collaboration with one of Italy's largest museums.

The MetaMuseum's creation will follow well-defined steps in the research project: Cristiana Barandoni (Principal Investigator for the MANN and creator of the MetaMuseum), in collaboration with Floriana Miele (Archaeologist and Head of the MANN Catalog Office), will select the four hundred artifacts to be digitized from the storage facilities, varying in material type and context. This will be followed by the complex process of 3D reproduction, coordinated by Professors Bernard Frischer and Gabriele Guidi, both Co-Directors of the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory.

We will begin by acquiring images of each artwork to generate the most complete set of surface viewpoints possible. This will lead to the generation of three-dimensional point clouds, which will represent a sampling of the artifact's surface. The point clouds will be the basis for producing a surface model (mesh model): essentially, a set of polygons that, taken together, will represent the object's shape. To ensure public accessibility, the transition to a textured mesh will be crucial, as it will convey the artifact's visual appearance, stored in a digital repository.

We create a metric model, with actual digital simulacra of the original. The result is an object that can be displayed not only to the general public, but especially to scholars, also to evaluate restoration options. It all comes from a non-invasive process, which does not involve physical contact with the objects., goes into more detail Gabriel Guidi.

The MetaMuseum will also have an educational aspect, because students and experts will participate in the study and image acquisition campaigns: "I am delighted that our new colleague, Professor Gabriele Guidi, who joined our university in January 2022 from the Polytechnic University of Milan, can bring his extensive experience to this project with the MANN. The MetaMuseum is innovative and will offer our students and graduates an endless source of topics for their research.", he adds Bernard Frischer.

The job prospect remains, in any case, linked first and foremost to the conservation of the artefacts: The MetaMuseum is a project that aims to safeguard and protect the Museum's submerged heritage, consisting of invisible artifacts—that is, undisplayed for reasons of space, study, and conservation. These are perhaps lesser-known works, but equally important for research: these testimonies, to survive, need to be protected. And known. Designing and realizing an innovative idea thanks to the collaboration and financial support of Indiana University is an opportunity that could not be missed.he concludes Christian Barandoni.