Three-Dimensional Scanning of Museum Exhibits with the Technology of Structured-Light Illumination

Currently, the technology of three-dimensional scanning and modeling of the exhibits is being actively introduced into the museology. Among the pioneers in this field are the Smithsonian Institution and the project of Google, who made hundreds of museum objects publicly available. The article discusses the unique opportunities offered by 3D scanning, starting from publishing three-dimensional models of exhibits on the Internet to creating their material copies. The authors set the task of pilot three-dimensional scanning of the exhibits of the Museum of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS and publishing them in the online gallery. The work has resulted in more than 60 scanned exhibits, published in the online gallery (3d.nsu.ru), used in MOOC courses and training materials of the e-learning system Moodle, and implemented as an interactive stand in the exhibition space of the Museum of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography SB RAS. The scanned items were used to test the simulation technology for restoring their original appearance and printing their plastic copies on a 3D printer.