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

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将创建新的软件，用于自动创建楔形文字铭文的纹理，3D数字模型，从多个数字照片和自动执行几何字符识别的印象，以获得意义。 所提出的系统（比任何当前的替代方案更准确、更快和更有效的检测工具）包括：（1）从多张照片中重建楔形文字板的详细模型;（2）分离各个楔形文字笔划并将有意义的字符与背景裂缝区分开;（3）根据几何特征对照词典对字符进行分类;以及（4）执行初步的自动单词识别，从而导致文本的翻译。 古代文字记录（美索不达米亚楔形文字板、埃及象形文字雕刻或罗马政治铭文）掌握着理解我们文化遗产的钥匙，但由于数量太多，翻译时间太长，语言专家太少，所以没有人阅读。 其他竞技场具有具有表面压痕的物体（轮胎痕迹、靴印和化石遗迹），这些物体必须被测量以进行分析并与类似物体进行比较以进行识别，但是这样的结果不能用当前的方法有效地获得。浪费的时间，造成的不准确，以及潜在的错误解释可能会产生可怕的后果。 该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为目标机构提供的重大利益，使其能够在不需要特殊设备或专家的情况下创建其收藏品中雕刻对象的准确和精确的3D数字模型。 由于相机校准，三脚架或特殊照明是不必要的，这个过程可以快速，轻松，廉价地完成。 除了对过去的洞察力，这将不可避免地通过使用拟议的系统，经济和技术优势将推动其商业采用。 博物馆、考古遗址和其他收藏品不再需要支付昂贵的扫描仪及其维护和升级费用，也不需要聘请专家来运行设备和处理结果。 学者们不需要亲自去看铭文，这仍然是研究古代书面文件的传统方法（照片或图画不足以理解文本）。 因此，所提出的系统完成了许多工具不可用的任务;并且它远远超出了试图帮助研究和传播有关古代文本的信息的范围（例如，楔形数字图书馆倡议;数字汉谟拉比项目;波斯波利斯基金会档案）。 该软件有广泛的应用，如地质学，法医学和犯罪调查，我们将在第二阶段进行探索。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will create new software for automatically creating textured, 3D digital models of cuneiform inscriptions from multiple digital photographs and for automatically performing geometric character recognition on the impressions in order to derive meaning. The proposed system (more accurate, faster, and a more effective detective tool than any current alternative) comprises: (1) reconstructing detailed models of cuneiform tablets from multiple photographs; (2) isolating individual cuneiform strokes and distinguishing meaningful characters from background cracks; (3) classifying, against lexicons, the characters based on geometric characteristics; and (4) performing preliminary automatic word identification leading to translation of the texts. Ancient written records (Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets; Egyptian hieroglyphic carvings; or Roman political inscriptions) hold the keys to understanding our cultural heritage, but go unread because there are too many of them, their translation takes too long, and there are too few linguistic experts. Other arenas have objects with surface impressions (tire tracks, bootprints, and fossil remains) that must be measured for analysis and compared to like objects for identification, but such results cannot be efficiently obtained with current methods. The time lost, the inaccuracies created, and the potentially false interpretations presented can have dire consequences. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project are the significant benefits afforded to the target institutions allowing creation of accurate and precise 3D digital models of inscribed objects in their collections without the need for special equipment or experts. Since camera calibration, tripods, or special lighting are unnecessary, the process can be completed quickly, easily, and cheaply. Beyond the insight into the past that will inevitably accrue by using the proposed system, economic and technological advantages will motivate its commercial adoption. Museums, archaeological sites, and other collections need no longer pay for expensive scanners and their maintenance and upgrades, nor hire specialists to run the equipment and massage the results. Scholars need not travel to see inscriptions firsthand, still the traditional method of studying ancient written documents (photographs or drawings are insufficient for understanding the texts). The proposed system thus accomplishes many tasks the tools for which are unavailable; and it goes far beyond what has been attempted to aid the study and dissemination of information about ancient texts (e.g., Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative; Digital Hammurabi Project; Persepolis Foundation Archive). The software has extensive applications, such as in geology, forensics, and crime investigation, which we will explore in Phase II.