The project
The digitalisation project for David poses a great many challenges which are being addressed by a team of technical experts and researchers from the academia and the industrial sector who have come together to pool their different skills and specialist knowledge. Coordinated by Professor Grazia Tucci, the group has been working on Cultural Heritage digitalisation for over 20 years, curating various plastic artworks, some of which include replicas with 3D printing systems.
In the case of Michelangelo's statue, the experts will have to solve considerable logistical and operational difficulties, like moving around in one of the most important museums in Florence without getting in the way of visitors or hampering normal activities; another tricky part is coping with the size of the statue and the need to capture it as a whole. A good grasp of metrology is not enough unless it is accompanied by extensive experience which bears witness to the singularity of each achievement in the field of Cultural Heritage. And it was in order to attain a digital replica with highly accurate detailing that tools and methods from the industrial sector were taken on board with the involvement of Hexagon, a technical partner and project sponsor. Hexagon will be working alongside the group of geomatic researchers (as experts of measurement and digitalisation are defined nowadays) from the University of Florence.
