Why do people deliberately destroy cultural heritage? By doing so, do they believe they're erasing our history? Our cultural memory? It's true that we are losing cultural heritage to erosion and natural disasters, but this is something that is simply difficult to avoid. I'm here to show you today how we can use pictures -- your pictures -- to reclaim the history that is being lost using innovative technology and the effort of volunteers.
为什么人们会故意破坏文化遗产? 他们相信 这么做就能抹掉历史, 抹掉我们的文化记忆吗? 事实上,侵蚀和自然灾害 正让我们失去文化遗产, 但这个过程是难免的。 我今天来向你们展示, 我们如何运用照片—— 你们的照片-—— 来重建失去的历史, 通过创新科技 和志愿者的努力。
In the early 20th century, archaeologists discovered hundreds of statues and artifacts at the ancient city of Hatra, in northern Iraq. Statues like this one were found in fragments, some of them missing their heads or arms, yet the clothing that they are wearing and their pose can still tell us their story. For example, we believe that by wearing a knee-length tunic and open bare feet, this was representative of a priest. However, with a closer look at this particular piece, we can see that this tunic being worn was elaborately decorated, which has led many researchers to believe this was actually a statue of a king performing his religious functions.
20世纪初, 考古学家在伊拉克北部的哈特拉古城 发现了数百件的 雕像和文物。 这样的雕像被发现时已经支离破碎, 有些失去了头和手臂, 但是他们的衣着, 还有身体的姿态, 仍然能够诉说他们的故事。 比如, 我们知道穿过膝长袍, 赤足, 表明这是一位牧师。 然而,仔细看细节部分, 这是一件精心雕饰的长袍, 许多研究人员由此相信, 这是一个履行宗教职能的 国王的雕像。
When the Mosul Cultural Museum opened in 1952 in northern Iraq, this statue, as well as others, were placed there to preserve them for future generations. Following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, a few statues and artifacts were relocated to Baghdad, but this statue remained. Then in February of last year, a video was released, and it instantly went viral. Maybe some of you remember seeing it. Here's a short clip.
1952年,摩苏尔文化博物馆 在北伊拉克开馆, 这尊雕塑,还有其他的一些文物 被陈列出来加以保存,以供后代观赏。 2003年美国入侵伊拉克后, 少数雕塑和文物被转移到巴格达, 但是这尊雕塑仍然留在那里。 去年2月,网上出现了一个视频, 立刻获得了大量点击。 可能你们中有人看过。 这是其中的一个片段。
(Video) (Singing in Arabic)
(录像)(阿拉伯语歌曲)
(Singing ends)
(歌声结束)
Not a very pleasant sight, right? Did you notice anything familiar in the video? There it is. There is that very statue, as it was toppled over, breaking into pieces.
不太愉快的景象吧? 看到什么熟悉的东西了吗? 就是它。 就是这尊雕塑, 被推翻, 摔成了碎片。
When Matthew Vincent and I saw this video, we were shocked. Since we are archaeologists using innovative technology for digital preservation, an idea sprung to mind. Maybe we can crowdsource the images that were taken of these artifacts before they were destroyed, to create digital reconstructions. If we can do that, maybe we can put them into a virtual museum to tell that story. And so two weeks after we saw this video, we started the project called Project Mosul.
当Matthew Vincent 和我 看到这个录像时, 都惊呆了。 我们是运用创新科技对文物 进行数字保存的 考古学家, 于是突然有了一个想法。 也许我们可以面向大众搜集 文物被破坏前的图像, 用来重造数字影像。 如果我们成功了, 就可以把成果加入到虚拟博物馆, 继续述说它们的故事。 在看到录像的两周后, 我们开始了一个项目, 叫做“摩苏尔计划”。
Remember the pictures of the statue I showed you before? This is actually the crowdsourced reconstruction of it before it was destroyed. Now, many of you may be wondering, how exactly does this work? Well, the key to this technology is called photogrammetry, and it was invented here, in Germany. It is the technology that allows us to use two-dimensional images taken of the same object from different angles to create a 3D model. I know you may be thinking this sounds like magic -- but it's not. Let me show you how it works. Here are two crowdsourced images of the same statue. What the computer can do is it can detect similar features between the photographs -- similar features of the object. Then, by using multiple photos, in this case, it can begin to reconstruct the object in 3D. In this case, you have the position of the cameras when each image was taken, shown in blue.
还记得之前给大家看的 雕塑的图片吗? 它实际上就是通过 众筹图片重新创造出的 它被破坏前的样子。 你们当中有人一定在想, 到底怎么做到的? 其中运用的主要技术 叫做摄影测绘学, 这项技术就诞生在德国。 它允许我们用从同一物体的 不同角度获得的二维图片 创造出3D模型。 听起来很神奇吧? 不过这可不是什么魔法。 我来解释一下它的工作原理。 这是两张同一雕塑的图片。 计算机能够 发现相片中相似的部分—— 目标体上相似的部分。 然后用多个图像 重新创造出物体的3D影像。 在这个例子中, 拍摄图像的照相机的不同位置 用蓝色区域进行了标记。
Now, this is a partial reconstruction, I admit, but why would I say partial? Well, simply because the statue was positioned against a wall. We don't have photographs taken of it from the back. If I wanted to complete a full digital reconstruction of this statue, I would need a proper camera, tripods, proper lighting, but we simply can't do that with crowdsourced images. Think about it: How many of you, when you visit a museum, take photographs of all parts of the statue, even the back side of it? Well, maybe if some of you find Michelangelo's David interesting, I guess --
我承认这只是部分重建, 为什么说是部分呢? 因为雕塑是靠墙摆放的, 我们没有从后往前拍摄的图片。 如果要完成整个雕塑重造, 我们需要合适的相机, 三脚架,适当光线, 而这些并不能通过众筹得到。 思考一下: 你们中有多少人在参观博物馆时, 会对一个雕塑进行 全方位无死角的拍摄, 包括从背后? 也许你们中有人会觉得 米开朗基罗的大卫雕像挺有趣。 我猜的没错吧——
(Laughter)
(笑)
But the thing is, if we can find more images of this object, we can improve the 3D model.
事实是, 如果我们能得到更多 目标物的图像, 就优化3D模型。
When we started the project, we started it with the Mosul Museum in mind. We figured we may get a few images, some people interested, make one or two virtual reconstructions, but we had no idea that we had sparked something that would grow so quickly. Before we knew it, we realized it was obvious: we could apply this same idea to lost heritage anywhere. And so, we decided to change the name of the project to Rekrei. Then, in the summer of last year, "The Economist" magazine's media lab reached out to us. They asked us, "Hey, would you like us to build a virtual museum to put the reconstructions back inside, to tell the story?" Can you imagine us saying no? Of course not. We said yes! We were so excited. This was exactly the initial dream of that project. And so now, any of you can experience RecoVR Mosul on your phone, using Google Cardboard or a tablet or even YouTube 360.
在这个项目启动之初, 我们从摩苏尔博物馆开始。 想着也许可以得到 一些人感兴趣的 少量图像, 完成一两个虚拟重建, 但我们根本没有预料到 事情的发展如此神速。 之前 我们就意识到: 我们可以把这个点子 用于任何失去的文物。 我们决定把项目 重新命名为Rekrei。 去年夏天, 《经济学人》杂志的 媒体实验室联系了我们。 他们问道, “需不需要我们建立 一个虚拟博物馆, 把重塑后的物品装在里面, 述说它们的故事?“ 我们怎么可能拒绝呢? 当然不能! 于是我们同意了。 我们都兴奋不已。 这正是建立项目的最初梦想。 现在, 每个人都可以通过手机 体验 RecoVR Mosul, 可以借助Google Cardboard, 或者平板电脑, 甚至 YouTube 360。
Here is a screenshot from the virtual museum. And there it is ... the partial reconstruction of the statue, as well as the Lion of Mosul, the first reconstruction completed by our project. Although the video doesn't explicitly show the Lion of Mosul being destroyed, we have many other examples of large artifacts being destroyed that were simply too large to have been stolen. For example, the Gate of Nimrud in northern Iraq. This is a digital reconstruction from before, and this is actually during the destruction. Or the Lion of Al-Lāt, in Palmyra, Syria: before ... and after.
这是虚拟博物馆的截屏。 看见了吗? (中间的就是) 这个雕塑的部分复原影像, 还有摩苏尔之狮, 这是我们的项目 完成的第一个作品。 虽然录像中并没有显示 摩苏尔之狮被毁掉了, 但我们有很多其他 被毁掉的大型文物, 因为体积太大而没有被偷走。 例如, 伊拉克北部的尼姆门。 这是对从前形貌的数字还原, 这是它被破坏后的样子。 还有AI-Lāt之狮, 位于叙利亚巴尔米拉: 从前—— 还有现在。
Although virtual reconstructions are primarily the main focus of our project, some people have been asking the question: Can we print them in 3D? We believe 3D printing doesn't offer a straightforward solution to lost heritage. Once an object is destroyed, it's gone. But 3D printing does offer an addition to tell that story. For example, I can show you here ... There is the statue from Hatra and the Lion of Mosul.
虽然虚拟重建是我们项目的 重点, 有人还是会问我们: 能打印出3D模型吗? 我们并不认为3D打印 能够针对失去的文物提供直接的 解决方案。 一旦物体被毁坏了, 就不存在了。 但是,3D打印的确能够帮助 我们讲述这些故事。 比如,给大家展示一下—— 这是哈特拉和 摩苏尔之狮的雕塑。
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
Thank you.
谢谢。
Now, if you look closely, you'll notice that there are some parts that have been printed in color, and some parts that are in white or gray. This part was added simply to hold the statues up. This works the same way if you visit a museum, and a statue is found in fragments; it's put together for the people to see it. This makes sense, right? However, we're much more interested in what virtual reality has to offer for lost heritage.
如果你仔细观察, 会发现有的部分带有颜色, 而有些部分呈白色或者灰色。 这部分起到了加固雕塑的作用。 如果你参观博物馆,看到是一样的 碎片状的雕塑: 人们看到是重新组合过的雕塑。 理解了吗? 不过,更让我们感兴趣的是 虚拟现实如何能重塑失去的文物。
Here is an example of one of the tower tombs that was destroyed in Palmyra. Using Sketchfab's online viewer, we can show that we have reconstructed three parts of the exterior of the tomb, but we also have photos of the inside, so we're beginning to create a reconstruction of the wall and the ceiling. Archaeologists worked there for many, many years, so we also have architectural drawing plans of this lost heritage.
还有一个在巴尔米拉被破坏了的 陵墓的例子。 运用 Sketchfab 的在线查看器, 可以看见我们重塑了 陵墓外墙的三个部分, 我们也有内部的图片, 正在着手重新打造墙体和 天花板。 考古学家在这里工作了多年, 我们还有损坏的文物的 建筑设计图。
Unfortunately, we are not only losing cultural heritage to areas of conflict and at war -- we're also losing it to natural disasters. This is a 3D model of Durbar Square in Kathmandu, before the earthquake that occurred last April ... and this is after. You may be thinking, you didn't create these 3D models with only tourist photographs, and that's true. But what this represents is the ability for large, public organizations and private industry to come together for initiatives like ours.
不幸的是,导致我们失去了 很多文物的不仅仅是 地区冲突和战争, 还有自然灾害。 这是尼泊尔加德满都 Durbar广场的3D模型, 这是去年4月发生地震前的样子, 这是地震后的景象。 你们可能在想, 你们不会仅仅通过游客图片 来打造3D模型吧。 说对了。 不过这体现的是 与我们有着共同目标的 大公司,公共公司,私人公司 携手合作的能力。
And so one of the major challenges of our project, really, is to find photographs that were taken before something happens, right? Well, the internet is basically a database with millions of images, right? Exactly. So we have begun to develop a tool that allows us to extract images from websites like Flickr, based on their geotags, to complete reconstructions.
我们的项目遇到的主要挑战 是找到灾难发生之前的图片,对吧? 而互联网正是个基于 成百万图片的数据库,不是吗? 没错。 于是我们着手开发了一个工具, 允许我们在类似Flickr 那样的网站上,基于地理标记 来提取图片, 完成重建。
Because we're not only losing cultural heritage to natural disasters and in war, but we're also losing it to something else. Any idea, just looking at these two pictures? Maybe it's a little difficult to remember, but only a few weeks ago, this was the example of human destruction by human stupidity. Because a tourist in Lisbon wanted to climb onto this statue and take a selfie with it --
除了自然灾害和战争, 我们也会因为其他因素 失去文化遗产。 还记得这两张图片吗? 很难想起来吧, 就在几星期前, 它们被人类的愚蠢行为毁掉了。 因为一个在里斯本的游客 企图爬上这个雕塑 跟它自拍——
(Laughter)
(笑)
and pulled it down with him. So we're already finding photographs to complete a digital reconstruction of this.
然后他们一起摔下来了。 我们已经在寻找相关图片 打算进行虚拟重建。
We need to remember that the destruction of cultural heritage isn't a recent phenomenon. In the 16th century, European priests and explorers burned thousands of Maya books in the Americas, of which we only have a handful left. Fast-forward to 2001, when the Taliban blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan.
我们要时刻铭记, 破坏历史文物的行为 不是最近才有的。 在16世纪, 欧洲牧师和探险家焚烧了 成千上万的美洲玛雅书籍, 只有少数保留至今。 快进到2001年, 塔利班烧毁了 阿富汗的巴米扬佛像。
You see, cultural heritage is about our shared global history. It helps us connect with our ancestors and their stories, but we're losing pieces of it every day to natural disasters and in areas of conflict. Of course, the loss of human life is the most heartbreaking loss ... but cultural heritage offers us a way to preserve the memory of the people for future generations. We need your help to reclaim the history that is being lost. Will you join us?
大家都知道, 文物是全球共享的历史。 它帮助我们了解 自己的祖先和他们的故事, 我们每天都在自然灾害 和地区冲突中 失去宝贵的文物。 当然,最让人心疼的 是失去了人类生活的证据, 文物能为我们 提供线索,并为后代 保存记忆。 我们需要你的帮助, 共同找回失去的历史。 你会加入我们吗?
(Applause)
(鼓掌)