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Smithsonian Releases 3D Models of Artifacts
plover writes "The Seattle Times reports, 'The Smithsonian Institution is launching a new 3D scanning and printing initiative to make more of its massive collection accessible to schools, researchers and the public worldwide. A small team has begun creating 3D models of some key objects representing the breadth of the collection at the world's largest museum complex. Some of the first 3D scans include the Wright brothers' first airplane, Amelia Earhart's flight suit, casts of President Abraham Lincoln's face during the Civil War and a Revolutionary War gunboat. Less familiar objects include a former slave's horn, a missionary's gun from the 1800s and a woolly mammoth fossil from the Ice Age. They are pieces of history some people may hear about but rarely see or touch.' So far they have posted 20 models, with the promise of many more to come."
They even have a model supernova remnant.
Well, that's a fairly sophisticated if culturally aware euphemism.
I want to print a 3D model of Washington's wooden teeth and put them in my RealDoll!
Trolling is a art,
The interesting bit is the possibility of schools being able to get their hands on cheap scale models of some of these things. Getting a child interested in science and history makes the learning process go a lot more smoothly than just cramming a bunch of facts down their throat. Even viewing the 3d models on the computer is actually fairly interesting. Rotating around the mold of Lincoln's face is very much different than just "looking at a picture". The same for things like the Wright brothers' plane, with all of its individual parts.
Just because you aren't interested doesn't mean that other people aren't.
Wake me up when they've scanned the original Enterprise.
I hear they have bones of a long-dead race of giants with multiple rows of teeth and stuff.
Just hope none of the scanned historical artifacts happen to be guns or we're up for another round of hysteria.
http://www.si.edu/termsofuse
Hopefully those models aren't covered under their site's general license (bans commercial use), as it would be awesome to be able to use these in games.
Buy your next Linux PC at eightvirtues.com
These days, just bringing the STL file to school might get you expelled.
Try some of the links from the article.
The system is really cool - you can rotate and view a mastodon skeleton (or supernova model) from any angle, it works in the browser, and it's really fast (on my machine, at least).
You can change the material color/texture, change the lighting properties & angle, take a slice of the 3-d image(!), put down a measuring tape, add annotations, then generate a link to that image.
I couldn't find a way to download the model, but you can file->save the web page, and it appears to store all the javascript for the editor on your local system.
The system is all kinds of awesome. Watching them add to their inventory should be very interesting.
I've always wanted to be able to virtually browse exhibits like this in 3D with full historic data on the side like this. This is awesome! Way to go Smithsonian!
I think it would be pretty cool, and possibly not that difficult, if gamers could discover some of these Smithsonian objects in the dungeons of RPGs. That really could add immersion and, well... a bit of reality!
Okay, it's even more awesome.
On the downloads page you can download the models in various forms - point cloud, mesh, and so on. Different formats, depending on the method used to get the model data (cat scan, laser scan, photographic, &c).
They mention in the about page that it would take 247 years of work 24/7 to capture the entire collection.
We could hire 247 people and get the entire collection online in 3 years (8 hour shifts). At $50,000 per person, that's about $13 million per year(*). Compare to the cost of the Obamacare website currently estimated at around $100 million and it has to be redone.
They've obviously shown "proof of concept" for getting the job done. Can we somehow just give them the money to complete it? Maybe a petition on "We the People"?
(*) Back-of-the-envelope calculation doesn't include cost of scanning equipment or materials, but note that there are a *lot* of museums in this country. We could invest in the infrastructure once and keep 300 people employed for decades putting this great stuff online.
I'm going to use my 3D printer to print out my OWN artifacts and have my OWN Smithsonian and collect all that delicious entrance fee money...
With blackjack? And hookers?
Back then it was fire, brimstone, and buckshot.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Just saying...
You just know next Halloween everybody with a 3D printer is going to be a very accurate Abraham Lincoln.
Well, its better than looking at a simple picture. Most people will never make it to DC to see the original, protected behind glass. Even fewer get to physically touch it.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
You jest, but there's probably a deeper conversation about property rights.... No one is up in arms about the wonton copying and reproduction of someone else's work since the original owners are long since dead.
But wait 100 years and see what happens when someone wants to recreate a 2013 -era Nike shoe.
You stereotypers are all the same...
3D printed guns don't kill people, 3D printing puns kill people.
Defining Statistics and Social Research