Cultural Heritage Analysis for New GEnerations

The needs and expectations of CH actors have evolved profoundly over the past decades by highlighting the alteration phenomena and their monitoring versus time. The monitoring of artefacts is possible through the combination and automation of in-situ and non-invasive measurements on the objects and their surrounding environment. But this approach is only giving general information and trends. Therefore, there is a need to collect precise information on both shape and aspect changes to understand the mechanisms developed in order to control them better and to minimize this.

New digital technologies (imaging techniques and tools) play a prominent role but require an interdisciplinary approach with new challenges for ICT experts in terms of technologies and the need for CH actors to clarify their expectations and validate the results obtained.

The combination of new technologies and the integration of conventional investigation tools currently used by CH experts (archaeologists, architects, curators, conservations scientists, conservators, art historians) and associated specialists (archaeometers, geomorphologists, etc.) allows us to anticipate the emergence of a new generation of multi-skilled experts specialised in the study and monitoring of changes on CH objects. CHANGE will respond to this urgent need.
The main scientific objective of CHANGE is to develop a methodology to assess and monitor any change to which CH artefacts are faced during their exposure to the atmosphere and their conservation treatments. It requires a multiscale and multimodal approach in both acquisition and processing of data collected and harmonization and unification of processing protocols. The new IT technologies to develop will require new knowledge and expertise that this project will provide and that the area is lacking at present.

The CHANGE project will train a new generation of early stage researchers towards a common goal, namely the assessment of changes of tangible cultural heritage (CH) objects and their monitoring in the atmosphere and/or during their conservation treatment using multimodal imaging techniques in complement to more traditional analytical techniques. Their research will consist in an optimised capturing of data and their analysis, visualisation and management to ensure a better documentation and long-term preservation of our common EU CH. This work will be carried out within an interdisciplinary environment involving 5 CH and 4 Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) beneficiary institutions as well as 9 CH, ICT and industrial partners from 8 EU countries.

The CHANGE interdisciplinary team constituted of CH and ICT experts they will train 15 ESRs and innovate scientifically and technologically in collaboration with the ESRs in order to address the above challenges in the sector. To achieve the project goals six operational work packages have been proposed. The work packages are thought and tailored to structure the data and the information flow (input and output) and to address the scientific questions.

WP1: Management and Coordination

WP2: CHANGE Training

WP3: Multiscale and multimodal strategies and systems for change capture and tracking of CH assets

WP4: Computational methods for change studying (characterization, visualisation and monitoring) of CH assets)

WP5: Application: Change during the alteration and conservation of CH artefacts

WP6: Dissémination, Exploitation and Communication

The scientific activities are grouped into three WPs (WP3, WP4 and WP5 ) and form the breeding ground for ESR training (WP2). WP3 and WP4 cover technology aspects while WP5 is application oriented. WP3 and WP4 will be run in parallel so that ESRs working on the development of new knowledge in ICT might deploy it to different applications and contribute to the work carried out transversally by other ESRs studying the change of specific materials and associated artefacts through the optimization of tools and methodologies. WP6 is dedicated to the dissemination, exploitation and communication of results. WP2 to WP6 will be managed under the umbrella of the coordinating partner (WP1). All WPs are strongly interlinked to each other to respond to the needs of end-users through a constant “come and go” between the acquisition, analysis, interpretation, visualisation, and evaluation of data.

Project Partners:

• Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Coordinator)
• Warsaw University of Technology
• Ministry of Culture, Center for research & restoration for French Museum - C2RMF at Louvre, Paris (CNRS)
• University Bourgogne Franche-Comte
• University of Oslo
• Cyprus University of Technology
• University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HESSO)
• University of Amsterdam
• Swiss National Museum 
• The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo

• Norsk Elektro Optikk AS, Norway
• Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów, Poland
• Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland
• Germolles Ducal Palace in Burgundy, France
• 7Reasons Medien GmbH, Austria
•  AICON 3D Systems GmbH, Germany
• Rijksmuseum, The Netherlands
• Institut National du Patrimoine, France