Endangered cultural heritage: tools for preservation, investigation and copyright clearance
Develop software tools for digital acquisition, archiving,
interactive delivery of endangered cultural heritage
database entries, managing internet-integrated multimedia
database and electronic copyright trading environment.
In our rapidly developing technological environment, people
are coming to rely more and more on databases and networks
to access information. To meet this demand, cultural
heritage institutions particularly have to rethink
traditional approaches to managing and disseminating
information about their collections. They have to think
about the sustainability of their collections. Digital
technologies have added new means to preserve of cultural
heritage - safeguarding it in digital space. Multimedia
technologies open the door to new multimedia business, and
an electronic system of multimedia rights clearance (MMRC)
is necessary.
Project aims:
(i) To develop new generation of tools - software for
filling and searching Internet-integrated multimedia data
base (MDB) and copyrights trading environment in one-step
marketing and management of multimedia products and rights
capable of operating on European basis.
(ii) To create an MMRC value chain that links object
creation, marketing, customer and access management,
distribution and use.
(iii) To create an MDB prototype using as entries
multimedia musical heritage items (MMHI), based on early
European musical heritage data (images of musical
manuscripts, audio-video music records, related pictures,
texts).
The prototype will demonstrate MDB operability on digital
acquisition and archiving, transfer and presentation of
unique multimedia items as well as prove the benefits of
interactive delivery. This is in accordance with the INFO
2000 program initiated by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION to
stimulate the multimedia content industry to exploit new
business opportunities and establish a European platform
for information clearing and exploitation, for the
transition 'from scribe to screen' in cultural heritage and
for the latest EU program - eContent action to provide a
bridge between companies in the digital content area and
potential investors.
The main project goal is to create consolidated approach
and MDB on a transregional, European basis - can be reached
by setting up the framework bridging together content
owners-providers (libraries, cultural institutions),
know-how partners (advanced multimedia technology
institutions) and producers. Research work in advanced
databases management, data mining and IT methods is
necessary in order to process a huge amount of digital
information, representing the highest-quality pictures,
sounds and video records, and to create a fully
explorable digital archive connected to Internet. The
interactive delivery of results also require innovative
solutions and research.
Definition Phase Activities:
Target areas to be developed:
(a) the digital acquisition of MMHI - fragile/endangered
image/audiovisual material,
(b) an Internet-integrated MDB warehousing system,
(c) state-of-the-art interactive delivery of multimedia
content,
(d) the highlighting of industrial structures, especially
SMEs, capable of co-operating between content owners,
scholars, multimedia producers, service providers, and
end-users.
Project Implementation Phase Activities:
(i) To investigate and design innovative solutions in
multimedial data presentations including: data compression
techniques, the content and metadata integration research
issue, advanced data mining;
(ii) To research issues on digital MMHI acquisition,
image/audiovisual signal processing;
(iii) To research issues on archiving, transfer and
presentation of acquired MMHI;
(iv) To create database architecture and design database
applications - to create a software for Internet-integrated
MDB filling and running on server;
(v) MDB warehousing: to develop standards for acquisition
and electronic delivery of MMHI and their metadata system;
(vi) To collect information on MMHI (old musical
manuscripts stored in project' partners countries) and make
local rights clearance for their digitisation;
(vii) To create a prototype of MDB, filling it with digital
MMHI (manuscript images, musical audio, video, texts,
illustrations) and metadata;
(viii) To develop an interactive annotation-based metadata
extraction system;
(ix) To create MMRC - multimedia rights clearance and
trading environment as an electronic system capable of
operating on a European basis;
(x) To create means for a flexible two-way delivery of
accumulated multilingual cross-cultural e-content:
generation of response files (on-fly technology) and
interactive CD-ROM (on-demand technology).
Results and Economic Benefits:
1. Innovative solutions in Internet-integrated MDB filling
online and personalised delivery of requested data online
and offline will result in reduced delivery costs of
production and ensure multimedia market competitiveness.
2. Promotion of information exchange between scientists and
industry in all participating countries will develop market
for high-technology products.
3. Software and experience in creating a prototype MDB on
MMHI based on early European music and making it accessible
as a total unit for researchers and other users produce the
original software and digital collection entries as
marketable products.
4. Knowledge, undiscoverable by other methods achieved by
data mining of the MDB created, will foster the development
of new research and industry areas.
5. Safeguarded as digital copies fragile and perishable
cultural values become accessible in digital space and
serve as a resource for the sustainability of the original
collections.
6. Multimedia rights clearance and trading environment as
an electronic MMRC system capable of operating on a
European basis will simplify and speed up the rights
clearance process and reduce localization costs for new
products.
7. Dissemination of knowledge obtained both online (DB
running on Internet server and delivering responses) and
offline (publishing CD-ROMs-on-demand) will reduce delivery
costs and create new jobs.
8. A network of organisations created to collect and
digitise MMHI will advance the preservation other cultural
values in digital space, their spread in the international
market, cooperation between industry and content owners. It
can be used in the future as a production distribution
network.
Keywords: multimedia database, signal processing, cultural
heritage.
Acronym:
ECH:TOPICC
Project ID:
2 597
Start date:
02-01-2003
Project Duration:
31months
Project costs:
1 030 000.00€
Technological Area:
Cultural Heritage
Market Area: