Digitisation / Cataloguing of non-textual objects: A standardised and optimised process for data acquisition from digital images of herbarium specimens

该项目将开发和记录一个软件驱动的标准流程，用于从植物标本馆标本（即干压植物或植物部分安装在纸板上并储存在自然历史收藏品中）的图像中提取元数据。我们将解决大部分的科学收藏：大约2200万植物标本馆标本存在作为植物参考对象在德国，约5亿世界各地。植物名称、采集地点和日期、采集者、登录号等元数据也被粘贴在纸张上，因此在标本图像上可见。到目前为止，大多数数据采集都是人工输入收集数据库，但越来越多地采用成像技术（也是为了确保可以核实在线元数据）。标准过程应尽可能取代或增加人工数据输入。图像处理软件检测数字化记录上的对象并对其进行分类。使用文本挖掘算法将文本对象转换为结构化信息。对于笔迹，试图鉴定作者。该项目将评价和加强现有软件，使其符合标准接口，并根据既定的信息技术标准将其纳入一个全面开放的软件结构。最后，该过程的要求将被制定为标准，并将实际应用记录在案。

The project will develop and document a software-driven standard process for extracting metadata from images of herbarium specimens (i.e. dried pressed plants or plant parts mounted on cardboard and stored in natural history collections). We will address a large proportion of science collections: approximately 22 million herbarium specimens exist as botanical reference objects in Germany, about 500 million worldwide. Metadata like plant name, collection site and date, collector, accession numbers, etc. are also glued flat on the sheet and thus visible on the specimen image. Up to now most of the data capture is manually fed into collection databases, but increasingly, imaging techniques are employed (also to ensure that the on-line metadata can be verified). The standard process shall replace or add to the manual data input as much as possible. Image processing software detects objects on the digitized record and classifies them. Text objects will be transformed into structured information using text mining algorithms. For handwriting, author identification is attempted. The project will evaluate and enhance existing software to conform to standard interfaces and integrate it into an overall open software architecture on the basis of established IT standards. Finally, the requirements for the process will be formulated as a standard and the actual application will be documented.