SBIR Phase II: Extracting Valuable Information Automatically from Objects with Surface Impressions via Photographs and Interactive Digital Surrogates

SBIR 第二阶段：通过照片和交互式数字替代品自动从具有表面印象的物体中提取有价值的信息

• 批准号: 1330139
• 负责人: Donald Sanders
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: Learning Sites, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-01 至 2016-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1330139&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Extracting; Valuable

The innovation, CUNAT (CUNeiform Automated Translator) attacks significant problems in a discipline wedded to conservative manual methods. Ancient Mesopotamian legal treatises, Egyptian medical records, and Roman political accounts--telling us exactly what happened in the words of the very people whose actions formed our history - languish untranslated, because there are too many of them, translation takes too long, and there are too few linguistic experts. "Cuneiform text genres include everything...from mathematical and grammatical exercises, beer recipes, international treaties, musical scores, legal codes, religious rituals, sales receipts, and astronomical tables....[M]useums...have acquired approximately 400,000 tablets, with thousands being unearthed every year.... [S]cholars continue to make unique and valuable contributions to the study of history, law, religion, linguistics, mathematics, and science" (Digital Hammurabi Project). CUNAT will allow anyone to create 3D models of artifacts and extract meaning from their impressions more effectively and quickly than existing tools. Phase II innovations include: extending the limits of image-based feature detection through unique algorithms based on 3D models automatically generated from photographs; isolating meaningful characters from noise across an array of surface shapes; classifying the characters of many dialects based on geometric characteristics; and performing automatic translation using graph-based algorithms and rules engines rather than traditional word-by-word methods.The broader/commercial impact of our innovation are new learning and analysis methods: a high-school student enters an art museum and sees an object with triangular-shaped surface incisions; the label reads "cuneiform tablet, 864BCE, Nimrud;" curious, the student aims a smartphone camera at the object and clicks; the images are uploaded into the project?s software app, which generates an interactive 3D model and an English translation of the inscription. The student may become the first person to have read the text and discover previously unknown astronomical knowledge detailed by the ancient scribe. Their software gives this research power and excitement of discovery to everyone, every institution, anywhere, anytime, because neither expensive special equipment nor complex calibration or lighting are necessary to produce results with unprecedented efficiency and accuracy. The innovations will address critical needs across the field of archaeology and produce a commercially viable product with applications to problems in museum exhibition, numismatics, and digital art history. In addition, accurate processes will be widely applicable, including forensics, paleontology, auto mechanics, personalized 3D printing, and carpentry. Beyond the insight into the past that will inevitably accrue, economic and technological advantages will motivate commercial adoption within and beyond our target market.

创新，CUNAT（CUNeiform自动翻译器）攻击在一个坚持保守的手工方法的学科中的重大问题。古代美索不达米亚的法律的论文、埃及的医疗记录和罗马的政治记录--用那些其行为形成了我们历史的人的语言准确地告诉我们发生了什么--没有被翻译，因为它们太多了，翻译需要太长的时间，而且语言专家太少了。“楔形文字类型包括一切.从数学和语法练习，啤酒配方，国际条约，乐谱，法律的法典，宗教仪式，销售收据和天文表. [M]博物馆.已经获得了大约40万块石板，每年出土数千块。[S]cholars继续作出独特和宝贵的贡献，历史，法律，宗教，语言学，数学和科学的研究”（数字汉谟拉比项目）。CUNAT将允许任何人创建文物的3D模型，并比现有工具更有效、更快速地从印象中提取意义。第二阶段的创新包括：通过基于从照片自动生成的3D模型的独特算法，扩展了基于图像的特征检测的限制;通过一系列表面形状将有意义的字符与噪声隔离开来;根据几何特征对许多方言的字符进行分类;以及使用基于图的算法和规则引擎而不是传统的逐字方法来执行自动翻译。更广泛的/我们的创新带来的商业影响是新的学习和分析方法：一名高中生进入艺术博物馆，看到一个表面有三角形切口的物体;标签上写着“楔形文字板，公元前864年，尼姆鲁德”;好奇的学生将智能手机摄像头对准物体并点击;图像上传到项目中？该软件应用程序可以生成交互式3D模型和铭文的英文翻译。学生可能会成为第一个读过这本书的人，并发现古代抄写员详细描述的以前未知的天文知识。他们的软件为每个人、每个机构、任何地方、任何时间提供了研究的力量和发现的兴奋，因为既不需要昂贵的特殊设备，也不需要复杂的校准或照明，就能以前所未有的效率和准确性产生结果。这些创新将解决考古学领域的关键需求，并生产出商业上可行的产品，应用于博物馆展览、钱币学和数字艺术史中的问题。此外，精确的过程将广泛适用，包括法医学，古生物学，汽车机械，个性化3D打印和木工。除了不可避免地对过去的洞察之外，经济和技术优势将推动我们目标市场内外的商业采用。