iPhotoCult
Description
The iPhotoCult project, funded under the Horizon program (Grant Agreement ID: 101132448), aims to design, develop, and validate innovative and sustainable photonic solutions for the preservation of Cultural Heritage (CH). By combining advanced diagnostic tools, remote monitoring technologies, and a cloud-based platform, iPhotoCult provides heritage professionals with non-invasive, portable imaging and photonic technologies. These tools aim to facilitate precise analysis, enable real-time monitoring of buildings, monuments, and artifacts, and integrate artificial intelligence to enhance the prediction of degradation processes.
The project also supports the documentation and implementation of conservation strategies, ensuring a more sustainable and efficient approach to CH preservation. Aligned with the principles of the New European Bauhaus initiative, iPhotoCult empowers professionals to make informed decisions for the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of cultural assets. Through its innovative solutions, the project strengthens Europe’s leadership in the field of sustainable Cultural Heritage management.
Partners
The iPhotoCult project brings together 14 partners from six countries, comprising a diverse consortium of beneficiaries and associated partners. The beneficiaries include leading research institutions and organizations such as the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), which serves as the project coordinator, as well as the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Fundación CARTIF, Institutul Național de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Optoelectronică (INOE), Eagle Projects, University of West Attica (UNIWA), Centro Conservazione e Restauro La Venaria Reale, and Laser Analytical Systems and Automation.
The associated partners further enrich the project’s scope and impact, including esteemed cultural institutions such as the National Gallery–Alexandros Soutsos Museum, the Consorzio delle Residenze Reali Sabaude, the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, the Consejería de Cultura y Turismo de la Junta de Castilla y León, and Technopolis City of Athens SA.
UNIWA in iPhotoCult will lead the coordination of the conservation and preservation methodologies and strategies of CH, the assessment of testing and validation results as well as the Pilots (CHP).
CH Pilots
The traditional and cutting-edge iPhotoCult tools will be used in 8 CHP:
- Former Collegiate Gothic Church, Roa, Spain.- Mapping and Structural Analysis of a monument in a remote rural town
- Industrial Gas Museum of Athens/Technopolis – Mapping and monitoring of soluble salts and corrosion on surfaces, structural defects in remote areas of Industrial CH items
- Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki – Coating failures on nonferrous archaeological metals collections: risk assessment of the effectiveness protection systems due to energy rationing.
- Public mural “Knowledge Speaks — Wisdom Listens” – Risk assessment from vandalism/pollution for a public street mural.
- Tismana Monastery, Romania – Damage Assessments and Monitoring of Buildings/Mural Paintings from Seismic Activities in a remote area.
- Probota Monastery, Romania – Climatic impacts on the exterior frescoes.
- General State Archives of Greece – Biological deterioration and mechanical damage to archival materials, parchment and paper.
- National Gallery of Athens – Monitoring and assessment of ageing impact on paintings, and CH objects in transport for exhibitions or loan and of outdoor sculptures’ protection materials.
- “La Venaria Reale” Savoy Royal Residence, Italy – Damage assessments and monitoring of architectural surfaces, contemporary art and object collections
iPhotoCult tools
- Modular hybrid compositional, multi-analytical system
- A novel tool combining DHSPI with IR thermography
- Ηigh-resolution imaging system mounted on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, UA
- A novel tool combining Mid-IR PA with NLOM techniques
- Ηigh-resolution imaging system mounted on an Unmanned Ground Vehicle, UGV
- Optical fiber sensing
