Digital Humanities is a broad collection of scholarly activities applying new technologies to research. Some of the many facets include enhancing the scholarly lifecycle, preserving and exposing collections that are otherwise difficult to access, encouraging new creative expression by using digital media, and studying the impact of technology in the humanities or providing cultural commentary. Digital Heritage is a subset that focuses on preserving and exploring our combined cultural heritage.
Background
Microsoft Research is exploring multiple applications of technology in service to the humanities. Some of the efforts—such as the Gigapixel Camera project—are developing new hardware to capture data. Others—such as the algorithmic approaches to modeling fabric and metal—are about bringing ancient and fragile artifacts to life. Finally there are a number of projects—such as Rich Interactive Narratives, ChronoZoom, and LADS—that are designed to allow individuals to explore the vast repositories of humanities data that exist, learn about our combined cultural heritage, and use this knowledge to develop insights that benefit the individual, organization, and society as a whole.
Current Research
Heritage
- Microsoft Research India's Digital Heritage
- dgCam – A Digital GigaPixel Camera
- Rich Interactive Narratives (RIN)
- Microsoft Research Asia's Forbidden City
- Materials Simulation
- Fabric Modelling
- Virtual Restoration of Metal
- Brown University's Garibaldi Project (see also: Beneath the Surface)
Humanities
- Worktop (formerly known as HumBub)
- Beneath the Surface
- Large Artwork Display on Surface (LADS)
- ChronoZoom (BigTime)
- ChronoZoom prototype, University of California, Berkeley
The Future
Microsoft Research Connections encourages scholars to apply technologies in creative and interesting ways to solve problems. The emerging area known as Digital Humanties is fertile ground for such exploration to take place.
