Egyptian Culture Project

Innovation Matters

An extraordinary partnership between the Egyptian government and IBM has created Eternal Egypt, an interactive Web site experience providing worldwide access to 7000 years of Egyptian history.

“All combined, the new technology has made it possible to see Egypt in ways we never imagined — to see our country as it was thousands of years ago," said Dr. Fathi Saleh, director of the Egyptian Center for the Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CultNat).

Throne of King Tutankhamun

Three years in the making, Eternal Egypt has so far produced multimedia animations, 360-degree image sequences, panoramas of important locations, virtual environments, three-dimensional scans, real-time photos from Web cameras and thousands of high-resolution images of ancient artifacts that weave together seven millennia of Egyptian culture and civilization. IBM Research provided the two-dimensional and three-dimensional imaging technologies.

IBM Research built on the assets and expertise acquired in previous Cultural Heritage research projects: the Hermitage Museum Project for the two-dimensional imaging of flat and volumetric artifacts and the Pietà Project for the three-dimensional imaging of volumetric artifacts.

Today, the capture systems incorporating these imaging technologies are installed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and used by CultNat experts who were trained by our team. IBM Corporate Community Relations, funded the project through a grant of technology and expertise from its Research and Global Services teams in the United States and Egypt.

Three-Dimensional Imaging Technology
One advantage of three-dimensional imaging over two-dimensional imaging is that it is possible to present artifacts in a manner that cannot be physically photographed, such as virtual restoration and placement in virtual environments. While many image-based techniques have been developed for interactive viewing of objects, making changes in the object’s shape or surface finish requires a complete geometric model and map of surface attributes. The purpose of the three-dimensional models on Eternal Egypt is to present high-quality images and animations illustrating objects in ways only possible with a three-dimensional digital model, rather than attempting to give the user full three-dimensional game-style interactivity. Accordingly, the criteria for selecting objects for three-dimensional scanning favored objects that need restoration, but cannot be physically restored as well as objects or tools for which a simulation would be helpful to present their functions.

Building on knowledge acquired during the Pietà Project, our team has assembled a capture system designed to accurately measure the geometric and photometric properties of the artifacts and a software processing pipeline to automate the creation of content. Geometric properties are measured using a laser scanner, while photometric properties are captured using a high-resolution camera under multiple and controlled lighting conditions. In order to create accurate models, special attention was paid to the individual and relative calibration of all the instruments. The software processing pipeline combines the resulting data into a model that can be edited to simulate virtual restorations or imported into virtual environments. What makes the system unique is the level of automation achieved for the whole content acquisition process. Further technical details are available in this paper.

Two-Dimensional Image Creation Studio for Objects and QTVR™ Production
The two-dimensional Image Creation Studio was installed in the Egyptian Museum to accurately capture two-dimensional images of the current condition of Egyptian artifacts. High resolution, high color fidelity images are captured with an IBM-Research-developed Digital Imaging System at a resolution of 3000 x 3200 pixels and 12 bits of color depth. The system consists of a Pro/3000 camera, a studio stand, and a custom illumination booth that provides a choice of low-ultraviolet specular or diffuse lighting for object capture. Software and an integral motorized turntable extend the studio's ability to create 360-degree sequence views of an object. A series of images of the object turning an additional "n" degrees between each capture is used to create a 360-degree movie as a QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR).

Related Publications

F. Bernardini and H. Rushmeier. The 3D Model Acquisition Pipeline. Computer Graphics Forum 21(2):149-172, 2002 (For e-copies contact Holly Rushmeier).

I. Boier-Martin, H. Rushmeier and R. Giantisco. Constrained Segmentation of Complex Models for Image-Based Texture Editing. ACM SIGGRAPH 2004 Sketches Program, Los Angeles, CA. August 2004.

M. Farouk, I. El-Rifai, S. El-Tayar, H. El-Shishiny, M. Hosny, M. El-Rayes, J. Gomes, F. Giordano, H. Rushmeier, F. Bernardini and K. Magerlein. Scanning and Processing 3D Objects for Web Display. 4th International Conference on 3D Digital Imaging and Modeling (3DIM '03) Banff, Alberta. October 2003.

Rushmeier, H., J. Gomes, L. Balmelli, F. Bernardini and G. Taubin. Image-Based Object Editing. 4th International Conference on 3D Digital Imaging and Modeling (3DIM '03) Banff, Alberta. October 2003.

H. Rushmeier, F. Giordano, H. El-Shishiny, K. Magerlein, F. Bernardini and J. Gomes. Design and use of an in-museum system for artifact capture. IEEE/CVPR Workshop on Applications of Computer Vision in Archaeology, Madison, WI. June 2003.

News and Information:
Eternal Egypt, IBM, February 24, 2004.

Chris Larson, From the Sphinx to King Tut, a Feast for Budding Egyptologists, The New York Times, February 26, 2004.

Egypt, IBM Team On Tourist Services, InformationsWeek, February 24, 2004.

Egypt ties up with IBM for new project, Gulf News, English, February 25, 2004.

IBM and the Egyptian goverment provide worldwide access to Egypt's cultural heritage, AMEINFO.com. English , Company news, February 24, 2004.

QTVR is trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and used under license.

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Innovator's corner

Frank P Giordano Researcher
What is the most exciting potential future use for the work you're doing?
The potential usage for two-dimensional and three-dimensional digital content creations is ever expanding from museums and libraries to the entertainment industry. IBM is the one company that can provide the end-to-end solution from high quality capture, to content management and distribution. Our latest three-dimensional solution for the Egyptian Museum promises even greater potential making possible artifact restoration, reconstruction and animation for a richer user experience.

What is the most interesting part of your research?
The design and implementation of innovative two-dimensional and three-dimensional high quality content capture solutions that solve real word problems and represent IBM as a world class leader in the Digital Content Creation arena. Engineering product level solutions that meet the ever demanding requirements of the cultural, retail, and media marketplace of technical excellence that our customers embrace is most rewarding.

What inspired you to go into this field?
I was inspired to go into this field to satisfy the need of the museum and library communities requirement for digital capture to make their collections available to the world via the web. The technical challenges of digital capture and the promise of revolutionizing an industry provided the passion to continue in this most rewarding field.

What is your favorite invention of all time?
My favorite invention of all time is the internal combustion engine.