The project
The “AUTOMated enriched digitisation of Archaeological liThics and cerAmics” project (AUTOMATA) seeks to enhance this process by enabling low-cost and time-efficient digitisation of archaeological objects. This cutting-edge collaborative scheme, supported by the EU programme Horizon Europe for the period 2024-2029, is implemented by a network of excellence composed of 12 academic and non-academic organisations from 7 countries, placed under the coordination of the University of Pisa (IT).
Using AI-augmented robotics and sensors, AUTOMATA will create 3D models enriched with archaeometry data, providing a practical and cost-effective solution for digitisation. Robotic tools with newly developed AI methodologies will improve the digitisation process of visible and non-visible properties of archaeological finds, enhance the robustness and efficiency of 3D digitisation, improve surface appearance acquisition, and integrate 2D representations. This approach streamlines data acquisition, aided by human-AI collaboration, and, in turn, the collection of big, well-identified data will empower the development of AI models.
This cost-effective technology will democratise access to digitisation, benefiting the Cultural Heritage community at large, including public and private organisations dealing with culture, education, ICT, museums, creative companies and media, aid preservation methods and restorers’ work, and foster inclusive knowledge-sharing via a dedicated crowdsourcing platform.
Finally, the data collected by AUTOMATA will be seamlessly integrated into the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH), a shared platform designed to facilitate collaboration among heritage professionals and researchers, and provide them with access to data, scientific resources, training, and advanced digital tools tailored to suit their needs. This platform is developed by ECHOES (European Cloud for Heritage OpEn Science), an overarching EU-funded project that brings together fragmented communities of the Cultural Heritage field into a new community around the Digital Commons.