The digitization of cultural practices

Over the past few decades, computing researchers have developed a wealth of new systems to preserve and share cultural resources. Computing platforms give everyone access to high-resolution images of ancient cave paintings and Google artwork; 3D scanning systems digitize Michelangelo's sculptures and Pompeii's remains;7 and haptic devices allow users to touch and feel ancient sculptural forms.1 More recently, researchers have employed collaborative and crowd-sourced software in the restoration of specific artifacts and environments (such as paintings and archeological sites).9 These approaches tend to fall within one of three categories: digitally reconstructing objects and landscapes from the past; broadening access to cultural resources through remote distribution platforms; and digitally representing and archiving cultural artifacts and media (see Figure 1). In each, researchers position digitization techniques to support cultural preservation.