CHANGE · Project

Digital Tools to Track and Predict Deterioration of Cultural Heritage Objects

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Imagine you have a precious old painting or sculpture, and you want to know exactly how it's aging — like a doctor tracking a patient's health over years. This project built digital methods to compare scans of cultural heritage objects taken at different times, so conservators can spot tiny changes before they become serious damage. Think of it as a "diff tool" for art and artefacts, combining 2D photos, 3D scans, and spectral data to catch what the human eye misses. The team trained 18 partners across 8 countries to develop and validate these change-tracking techniques.

By the numbers

consortium partners involved

countries represented

project deliverables produced

industry partners in the consortium

SMEs in the consortium

demo deliverables (validation procedures and cross-data analysis protocols)

The business problem

What needed solving

Cultural heritage objects — paintings, sculptures, historic buildings — deteriorate over time, and institutions often discover damage too late or waste conservation budgets on objects that are stable while others quietly degrade. Existing digitization creates massive datasets of scans and images, but there are few reliable tools to compare these datasets over time and detect actual material changes. Conservators need objective, data-driven methods to prioritize treatments instead of relying on periodic visual inspections.

The solution

What was built

The project produced 20 deliverables, including validated procedures for tracking changes in cultural heritage objects over time, and methods and protocols for cross-data analysis of multimodal datasets (combining 2D imaging, 3D scanning, and spectroscopic data). These are research methodologies rather than packaged software products.

Audience

Who needs this

National museums and large galleries with aging collectionsPrivate art conservation and restoration studiosHeritage digitization and 3D scanning companiesInsurance firms specializing in fine art and cultural propertyGovernment heritage preservation agencies

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Museum & Cultural Institution Management

any

Target: Museums, galleries, and heritage collections with large inventories of physical objects

If you are a museum managing thousands of artefacts and struggling to prioritize conservation budgets — this project developed validated procedures to track material changes over time by comparing digital datasets captured at different periods. Instead of relying on periodic manual inspections, you could systematically detect which objects are deteriorating fastest and allocate resources accordingly. The methods combine imaging, spectroscopy, and computing across 2D and 3D datasets.

Art Conservation & Restoration Services

SME

Target: Private conservation studios and restoration firms

If you are a conservation company that needs to document and justify your restoration work to clients and insurers — this project created methods and protocols for cross-data analysis of multimodal datasets. You could use these to produce objective before-and-after evidence of material changes, replacing subjective assessments with measurable data. The validation procedures developed by 18 partners across 8 countries provide a credible scientific basis for your reports.

Heritage Digitization & Technology

SME

Target: Companies providing 3D scanning, photogrammetry, or imaging services to cultural institutions

If you are a digitization company sitting on massive archives of heritage scans with no way to extract deeper value from them — this project developed methodologies to analyze and interpret those existing digital datasets for change monitoring. Rather than just capturing data, you could offer ongoing monitoring services using protocols for cross-data analysis of multimodal data. With 9 university partners contributing imaging and computing expertise, the methods are scientifically robust.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement these monitoring methods?

The project did not publish pricing or cost data. Since CHANGE was an MSCA training network focused on methodology development with 18 partners, implementation costs would depend on the specific imaging equipment and software already available at your institution. Contact the consortium for licensing or collaboration terms.

Can these methods scale to large collections with thousands of objects?

The project developed methods and protocols for cross-data analysis of multimodal data, designed to work across 2D and 3D datasets. Scalability to very large collections would depend on digitization capacity and computing infrastructure. The methodologies were validated through case studies conducted with heritage experts, but mass-scale deployment data is not available.

Who owns the intellectual property and can I license the tools?

The project involved 18 partners across 8 countries including 4 industry partners and 3 SMEs. IP arrangements in MSCA-ITN projects typically allow partners to retain rights to their contributions. You would need to contact the coordinator at NTNU (Norway) to discuss specific licensing terms for the validation procedures and analysis protocols.

What types of objects and materials does this work on?

Based on the project objective, the methods address cultural heritage objects broadly — the team worked with photonics, lasers, imaging, and spectroscopic techniques. The deliverables include validation procedures for change tracking applicable to various material types. Specific material limitations are not detailed in available data.

Is this ready for commercial use today?

CHANGE was primarily a training network (MSCA-ITN) that ran from 2019 to 2023 and produced 20 deliverables including validation procedures and cross-data analysis protocols. The outputs are research methodologies rather than turnkey commercial products. Further development would be needed to package these into market-ready tools.

Are there regulatory requirements for heritage monitoring that this addresses?

Based on available project data, the validation procedures were designed to support conservators in planning treatments and tracking deterioration. While the project does not explicitly reference specific regulatory standards, the rigorous methodology involving 9 universities and case studies with heritage experts would support compliance with institutional documentation requirements.

Consortium

Who built it

The CHANGE consortium brought together 18 partners from 8 countries, anchored by NTNU in Norway. The mix is heavily academic — 9 universities and 1 research institute — with only 4 industry partners (22% industry ratio) and 3 SMEs. This is typical for an MSCA training network where the goal is educating researchers rather than building commercial products. For a business looking to adopt these methods, the low industry ratio means the outputs are more research-grade than industry-ready. However, the 4 industry partners (from Austria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway, and Poland) indicate some market awareness. The best entry point would be through NTNU or one of the industry partners who can bridge the gap between academic methodology and practical implementation.

NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNUCoordinator · NO
TECHNOLOGIKO PANEPISTIMIO KYPROUparticipant · CY
AKADEMIA SZTUK PIEKNYCH W WARSZAWIEpartner · PL
POLITECHNIKA WARSZAWSKAparticipant · PL
7REASONS MEDIEN GMBHpartner · AT
UNIVERSITETET I OSLOparticipant · NO
COMMUNAUTE D' UNIVERSITES ET ETABLISSEMENTS UNIVERSITE BOURGOGNE - FRANCHE - COMTEparticipant · FR
HAUTE ECOLE SPECIALISEE DE SUISSE OCCIDENTALEparticipant · CH
STICHTING HET RIJKSMUSEUMpartner · NL
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRSparticipant · FR
UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAMparticipant · NL
NORSK ELEKTRO OPTIKK ASpartner · NO

How to reach the team

NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) coordinated this project. Look for the principal investigator in the photonics or imaging department.

Order a report on this consortium See NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how CHANGE's heritage monitoring methods could fit your conservation or digitization workflow? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the research team and help evaluate applicability to your specific use case.

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