Tech-powered ‘fingerprints’ help preserve cultural heritage

<article><section data-type="rtext"><img data-alt="The Hangzhou Linping Museum, also known as the?China Jiangnan Water Town Culture Museum Photo: IC" src="//img.huanqiucdn.cn/dp/api/files/imageDir/63004b3c9bc37b45cdf69d1877f3626a.jpeg?imageView2/2/w/750" />Human fingerprints are unique and irreplicable, serving as proof of each individual's distinct identity and personal characteristics. While it's common knowledge that humans have fingerprints, did you know that cultural relics also possess their own "fingerprints?" Artifacts' fingerprints actually refer to their microscopic surface features invisible to the naked eye. Focusing on such traces, the Hangzhou Linping Museum, also known as the China Jiangnan Water Town Culture Museum, in East China's Zhejiang Province, has unveiled the latest system for investigating such relics' fingerprints assisted by digital imaging and AI technology. The system can not only archive the identity profile of artifacts, but also effectively prevent high-precision forgeries or fraudulent substitutions of cultural relics. 'Tackling pain points' The development of this relics' fingerprints system stemmed from the museum's concern for artifact safety during museum loans. Chen Yinü, the deputy director of the Museum, told the Global Times that with the Chinese public's huge passion for museum tours, artifact exchange activities have become increasingly frequent. "Cultural workers like us must prepare a coping method for the potential risk of authentic artifacts being damaged or swapped with counterfeits during lending processes even if it does not happen," Chen remarked. The museum team has developed a microscope-shaped device equipped with high-resolution camera modules. The device is capable of magnifying an artifact's surfaces multiple times without manual contact. Taking the museum's collection of calligraphy by Kang Youwei, a key figure in China's unsuccessful reform movement in 1898 , as an example, the brushstrokes of each calligraphic character has been magnified 50 to 80 times their actual size. "During the examining process, we continuously capture images of the artifact's micro-features. We then compile the clearest photographic sequence for synthesization into one image of the relics, and we call it a 'fingerprint model,'" said Chen. Engaging blockchain technology, the identified fingerprint model has also been safeguarded from falsification. Leveraging trending technologies like Big Data, blockchain, and AI-powered image recognition, the museum has successfully captured 23,760 microscopic surface features from 2,472 cultural artifacts. But the project goes beyond mere data collection, since the museum has established a digital database, creating a permanent electronic archive for artifacts. Noting that the museum's invention has now been borrowed by several institutions nationwide, Chen told the Global Times that it has "solved the museum industry's pain points [recurring problems]" even though the invention is not in the largest scale. "Digital archiving eliminates human errors in routine artifact management such as misfiling," Chen noted. She also added that similar "relic identity authentication" projects are seen increasing nationwide. <img data-alt="A technician operates equipment to capture microscopic surface features on cultural relics. Photo: Courtesy of Hangzhou Linping Museum " src="//img.huanqiucdn.cn/dp/api/files/imageDir/91c10e841de4296bcdcf1fcfb43290cd.jpeg?imageView2/2/w/750" />More future scenarios Unlike experts at the Hangzhou Linping Museum using microscope-shaped devices to discover relic traces, in a laboratory at Tianjin University, a mechanical arm gracefully moves, guiding a specially crafted probe that meticulously scans the surface of ancient relics. The scanning project also features fingerprinting artifacts, Feng Wei, a professor at the College of Intelligence and Computing at Tianjin University, told the Global Times. What has inspired Feng's project was because he felt the "urgency of updating traditional conservation methods while witnessing challenges to the museum industry," he told the Global Times. "At present, the main issue concerning the security of museum collections lies in the lack of a seamless, non-destructive, widely applicable, and reliable method of identification," Feng said, adding that traditional methods such as manual markings and electronic tags can fail to eliminate the risk of swapping fakes for real ones. To address this challenge, Feng's team has worked to develop a solution: Creating a digital artifact texture database to offer more comprehensive protection for the identities of cultural relics. The core of the "digital artifact texture" technology lies in achieving self-positioned, in-situ comparison from macro to micro scales. This technique is particularly suitable for delicate artifacts, such as bronzeware. Taking bronzeware as an example, the team needs to precisely collect micro reference points on the surface of the artifact as its digital artifact texture and ensure that these points can always be accurately located. Through creating such digital artifact textures, Feng and his team have already collected the fingerprints of over 400 artifacts at the Hunan Museum in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province. "The technology provides robust technical support for ensuring the identity security of cultural relics during transfer processes such as storage retrieval and touring exhibitions," said He Ye, director of the Data Center at the Hunan Museum. Feng's journey however will not stop. He said that what comes next is to extend the working range of the relic identification technology beyond the fingerprints collection. At present, Feng's team has started to conduct disease monitoring work for relics in the Palace Museum and the Summer Palace. "The digital fingerprint technology not only verifies the identity of cultural relics, but also exemplifies how China's technological advancements are transforming the field of heritage conservation," cultural policy expert Song Weiping told the Global Times. He also added that in the future, the relic identification sector "should be incorporated in cultural relic-related regulations." </section></article>

Human fingerprints are unique and irreplicable, serving as proof of each individual's distinct identity and personal characteristics.

While it's common knowledge that humans have fingerprints, did you know that cultural relics also possess their own "fingerprints?" Artifacts' fingerprints actually refer to their microscopic surface features invisible to the naked eye.

Focusing on such traces, the Hangzhou Linping Museum, also known as the China Jiangnan Water Town Culture Museum, in East China's Zhejiang Province, has unveiled the latest system for investigating such relics' fingerprints assisted by digital imaging and AI technology.

The system can not only archive the identity profile of artifacts, but also effectively prevent high-precision forgeries or fraudulent substitutions of cultural relics.

'Tackling pain points'

The development of this relics' fingerprints system stemmed from the museum's concern for artifact safety during museum loans.

Chen Yinü, the deputy director of the Museum, told the Global Times that with the Chinese public's huge passion for museum tours, artifact exchange activities have become increasingly frequent.

"Cultural workers like us must prepare a coping method for the potential risk of authentic artifacts being damaged or swapped with counterfeits during lending processes even if it does not happen," Chen remarked.

The museum team has developed a microscope-shaped device equipped with high-resolution camera modules. The device is capable of magnifying an artifact's surfaces multiple times without manual contact.

Taking the museum's collection of calligraphy by Kang Youwei, a key figure in China's unsuccessful reform movement in 1898 , as an example, the brushstrokes of each calligraphic character has been magnified 50 to 80 times their actual size.

"During the examining process, we continuously capture images of the artifact's micro-features. We then compile the clearest photographic sequence for synthesization into one image of the relics, and we call it a 'fingerprint model,'" said Chen. Engaging blockchain technology, the identified fingerprint model has also been safeguarded from falsification.

Leveraging trending technologies like Big Data, blockchain, and AI-powered image recognition, the museum has successfully captured 23,760 microscopic surface features from 2,472 cultural artifacts.

But the project goes beyond mere data collection, since the museum has established a digital database, creating a permanent electronic archive for artifacts.

Noting that the museum's invention has now been borrowed by several institutions nationwide, Chen told the Global Times that it has "solved the museum industry's pain points [recurring problems]" even though the invention is not in the largest scale.

"Digital archiving eliminates human errors in routine artifact management such as misfiling," Chen noted.

She also added that similar "relic identity authentication" projects are seen increasing nationwide.

More future scenarios

Unlike experts at the Hangzhou Linping Museum using microscope-shaped devices to discover relic traces, in a laboratory at Tianjin University, a mechanical arm gracefully moves, guiding a specially crafted probe that meticulously scans the surface of ancient relics.

The scanning project also features fingerprinting artifacts, Feng Wei, a professor at the College of Intelligence and Computing at Tianjin University, told the Global Times.

What has inspired Feng's project was because he felt the "urgency of updating traditional conservation methods while witnessing challenges to the museum industry," he told the Global Times.

"At present, the main issue concerning the security of museum collections lies in the lack of a seamless, non-destructive, widely applicable, and reliable method of identification," Feng said, adding that traditional methods such as manual markings and electronic tags can fail to eliminate the risk of swapping fakes for real ones.

To address this challenge, Feng's team has worked to develop a solution: Creating a digital artifact texture database to offer more comprehensive protection for the identities of cultural relics.

The core of the "digital artifact texture" technology lies in achieving self-positioned, in-situ comparison from macro to micro scales. This technique is particularly suitable for delicate artifacts, such as bronzeware.

Taking bronzeware as an example, the team needs to precisely collect micro reference points on the surface of the artifact as its digital artifact texture and ensure that these points can always be accurately located.

Through creating such digital artifact textures, Feng and his team have already collected the fingerprints of over 400 artifacts at the Hunan Museum in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province.

"The technology provides robust technical support for ensuring the identity security of cultural relics during transfer processes such as storage retrieval and touring exhibitions," said He Ye, director of the Data Center at the Hunan Museum.

Feng's journey however will not stop. He said that what comes next is to extend the working range of the relic identification technology beyond the fingerprints collection.

At present, Feng's team has started to conduct disease monitoring work for relics in the Palace Museum and the Summer Palace.

"The digital fingerprint technology not only verifies the identity of cultural relics, but also exemplifies how China's technological advancements are transforming the field of heritage conservation," cultural policy expert Song Weiping told the Global Times.

He also added that in the future, the relic identification sector "should be incorporated in cultural relic-related regulations."