How cobots help preserve art and culture

Overview

Verus Digital develops 3D digitization systems and advises and supports companies in creating high-precision, color-accurate 3D models of objects of any kind. Focusing upon the cultural heritage sector, it also serves the area of forensic applications, as both sectors fields require scientifically reliable, high-quality3D-Documentations. The Darmstadt-based startup uses the cobots to digitize complex and sometimes fragile artifacts. As part of its CultArm3D system, the UR10e captures objects reliably, safely, and fully automatically.

Verus Digital GmbH

Industry Education, R&D, and Science

Country Germany

Number of Employees 10

Cobots used UR10e | UR20

Products:

Autonomous 3D-Digitalization Systems (intelligent 3D-Scanner)

Advantages:

Quick setup and adaptation to different artifacts and objects

Highest precision for creating consistently accurate 3D models

Increased efficiency through automation instead of manual scanning procedures

Applications:

UR10e / UR20 as part of the CultArm3D system

The reliability of cobots is essential for a system as complex as CultArm3D is. Additionally, UR’s global network is an excellent value-added in distributing and maintaining our solution.

Martin Mittelstädt, Hardware Engineering Manager

The Challenge

The biggest technological challenge for Verus Digital was to capture complex objects with repeatable accuracy and of the highest quality. With conventional technologies, such as handheld scanners, the results can vary significantly from one capture run to another. Verus Digital wanted to use automation to increase the quality of the images and reduce time-consuming manual post-processing. The aim was to make the digitization process overall more efficient.

The Solution

Verus Digital developed the CultArm3D solution using the collaborative robots UR10e and UR20. Equipped with a PhaseOne camera and a specially developed ring light, the system independently recognizes the shape and material characteristics of the objects and adapts to them with the help of cobots during the capture process. Once sufficient information has been collected, the software that Verus Digital has explicitly designed and developed for that purpose, uses newly developed photogrammetric methods to first create a point cloud and then use it to generate a 3D model of the object. Thanks to its high-precision control system, the cobot always positions the camera exactly, ensuring consistently accurate scan results. Once set up and calibrated, the system creates 3D models with a resolution of up to 20µm.

The CultArm3D reliably and accurately scans even complex shapes.

The scans are used to create color-accurate, high-resolution 3D models.

The solution is compact and works safely right next to people.

To set up CultArm3D, users utilize the cobot's intuitive user interface and the digitization software developed in-house by Verus Digital. This makes digitization about three times more efficient than existing manual methods. In addition, the solution is collaborative, which means it works securely in the immediate vicinity of users and protects the objects being scanned.

Utilizing Verus Digital’s CultArm3D system, several museums have already been able to digitize entire collections consisting of hundreds of artifacts in a cost-effective manner.

The projects include scans of UNESCO cultural heritage objects, dinosaur skeletons, paintings, and evidence for forensic investigations.

Using the UR-Cobot, we were able to guarantee safe collaboration between humans and machines. We have almost completely automated the digitization process.

Reimar Tausch, VP of Engineering

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