Tools & Services
The COLOURS project delivers a specialised ecosystem of digital tools and services, supporting advanced restoration and conservation practices while opening new possibilities for communicating and engaging with cultural heritage.
Built to advance these practices, the COLOURS toolkit provides high-precision analysis and simulation capabilities tailored to diverse artefacts, from polychrome sculptures to historical films. Fully interoperable with the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH), these tools enable real-time interaction with digital twins, supporting decision-making and management while fostering inclusive approaches and ensuring the authenticity of restored colours.
StyleShade3D
Enhancing 3D mesh reconstruction with deep learning segmentation.
StyleShade3D integrates deep learning segmentation into conventional geometry pipelines to generate semantic segmentation atlases, enabling region-aware shading and stylisation.
Why on the ECCCH?The ECCCH provides the infrastructure for storing digital twins, allowing the tool to consume high-quality scans directly from the cloud.
- Automatic 2D semantic atlas creation
- Region-specific material assignment
- Optimised multi-view acquisition
Contact: Sinha Saptarshi Neil (Fraunhofer IGD)
Light Damage Estimator (LDE)
Predicting and mitigating light-induced colour changes in sensitive art.
A decision-support tool that estimates how pigments fade under specific lighting scenarios using spectral power distribution datasets.
Why on the ECCCH?Ensures direct access to digital twins and spectral datasets, enabling collaborative risk management across institutions.
- Pigment fading simulation
- Customisable lighting (LED, Daylight, etc.)
- Safe display threshold definition
Contact: Panagiotis Siozos (FORTH)
MuLaX Explorer
Interactive exploration of multi-layered 3D cultural heritage collections.
Enables online exploration of diagnostic and analytical data (UVL, VIL, XRF) spatially referenced on 3D models.
Why on the ECCCH?Structured storage for analytical layers and semantic masks ensures interoperability for interdisciplinary heritage science.
- Lens and split-mode discovery
- Interactive Semantic Painting (ISP)
- WebXR immersive VR/AR inspection
Contact: Bruno Fanini (CNR ISPC)
doLCE 2.0
Digital restoration of early lenticular film formats like Kodacolor.
Previously known as Kodacolor Colorizer, it computationally extracts hidden chromatic data from black-and-white lenticular film.
Why on the ECCCH?Cloud infrastructure enables the scalable, frame-by-frame analysis required for large audiovisual collections.
- Automated lenticular structure detection
- Extraction of embedded RGB components
- Correction of optical distortions
Contact: Sinha Saptarshi Neil (Fraunhofer IGD)
ATON
Open-source Web3D/WebXR framework for complex heritage data.
A foundational framework used to build interactive web applications for interacting with 3D models and metadata.
Why on the ECCCH?Coupling ATON's presentation layer with cloud data infrastructure allows institutions to deploy immersive environments directly in browsers.
- Adaptive 3D presentation (Mobile/Desktop/XR)
- Real-time multi-user collaboration
- Support for glTF and Cesium 3D Tiles
Contact: Bruno Fanini (CNR ISPC)
De-greening Tool
AI-driven restoration service for Autochrome photographic plates.
Addresses "greening" defects in early colour photography by using deep learning and synthetic defect generation.
Why on the ECCCH?Cloud deployment promotes reproducibility of algorithms and ensures accessibility for fragile photographic heritage.
- Synthetic simulation of greening patterns
- Deep learning restoration models
- Non-destructive, reversible workflow
Contact: Sinha Saptarshi Neil (Fraunhofer IGD)
PERCEIVE Colour Repository (CKR)
Platform for collecting, structuring, and sharing colour resources.
An open data platform following FAIR principles to support the full lifecycle of heritage colour data.
Why on the ECCCH?Ensures standardisation and European-wide accessibility while enabling interaction with analytical services.
- FAIR-compliant data management
- REST API for automation and interoperability
- CERN-based InvenioRDM framework
Contact: Marios Pitikakis (FORTH)
Negative to Positive (neg2pos)
Calibrated digital conversion of colour photography negatives.
A calibrated transformation framework designed to minimise aesthetic deviation when inverting colour negatives.
Why on the ECCCH?Enables shared access to negative/print pairs and distributed processing across archival collections.
- Calibrated transformation pipeline
- Optimisation for capture and processing
- Historical print fidelity tuning
Contact: Giorgio Trumpy (HSLU/NTNU)
CoDesign Tool
Card-based framework for collaboratively creating heritage experiences.
A structured methodology available in paper-based and web versions to co-create inclusive museum experiences.
Why on the ECCCH?Allows distributed teams to co-design using shared cloud-hosted datasets and digital twins.
- Seven-step structured workflow
- Audience Goals (Sense of Care)
- Resilience testing / Disruption Stage
Contact: Sofia Pescarin (CNR ISPC)
