Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository of Wikipedia, has introduced a new tool allowing contributors to upload 3D models to the site.
The 3D models, as with Wikipedia’s other media content i.e. photos, audio, vector and video files, will be embedded into the site’s existing articles, adding a new dimension to research done by the millions of readers who use the site every day.
A big step forward for the 3D community, many of the models are designed for 3D printing and academic reference.
3D Printing Industry spoke exclusively to Jonathan Beck, founder ofScan the World和one of the first 3D contributors to Wikimedia Commons, to discover more.
#NEWPALMYRA
将上传到Wikimedia Commons的第一个3D模型是Asad al-Lat雕像，这是一种从该雕塑中复活的雕塑巴尔米拉的废墟which was destroyed by ISIL in 2015.
Asad Al-Lat was chosen as the first 3D model by Wikimedia Commons in memory of Bassel Khartabil, the Palestinian Syrian open-source software developer, executed for his activism by the Syrian government in 2015.
巴塞尔喀尔塔比尔的遗产生活在#NEWPALMYRA他开始的项目digitally recreate the cityusing collected digital photographs.
吉尔斯·杜布克（Gilles dubuc）, one of the engineers behind the new 3D Wikimedia feature,注释, “Since I was familiar with 3D and had worked on the Media Viewer extension, I felt like this was a project where I could make a difference,”
“…The great importance of these free knowledge projects inspired me to work on 3D integration for Wikimedia projects to give a better platform for the hard work that people like Bassel put into documenting history.”
Wikimedia 3D型号的临时收藏已发展为包括历史雕塑和地标建筑，包括Venus di Milo,The Thinker by Auguste Rodin和雅典的Parthenon.
Art for everyone
Scan the World是3D文件托管网站myminifactory的非营利艺术和雕塑部分more than 10,000of the site’s 40,000+ guaranteed 3D printable files. Beck, the project’s founder and curator, has been in conversation with Wikimedia Commons since the development stages of the 3D model uploading tool.
“Wikipedia has always been a great influence on Scan the World’s collaborative approach for the democratization of culture and dissemination of knowledge,” said Beck, “as well as encouraging us to push for disrupting institutions to open their data to the public.”
For Beck, and the wider MyMiniFactory community, Wikimedia’s new tool is a validation of all the hard work that has gone into curating 3D content since Scan the World started in 2014.
“Our collaboration with Wikipedia reminds us that we’re working in the right direction for the future of sharing and obtaining information.”
“Hopefully it will provide more leverage to encourage other institutions to follow the likes of The SMK, MET and Musée Saint-Raymond in opening their data to the world,” he added.
Photography powered
TheWikimedia blog announcementof the new feature tips its hat to 3D models made using photogrammetry, encouraging more mobile users to get involved and upload their findings.
As a community-based initiative, photogrammetry is the predominant technology behind Scan the World’s entire art collection, accounting for around 85% of the overall content.
“The majority of the models on the platform originate from photogrammetric data provided by our community of contributors,” comments Beck.
“It’s great to see the democratized technology embraced by Wikipedia to encourage people to scan more objects.”
The initial stage of摄影测量法can be done with a smartphone camera. The photos then need to be digitally stitched together, in a program such as Autodesk ReMake, and finished to make a complete model.
Scan the World provides this useful guide on如何开始扫描.
任何希望为3D模型的Wikimedia Commons档案做出贡献的人都可以简单地创建一个免费的Wikipedia帐户，并使用该网站的内部上传器。
The Wikimedia Commons feature currently accepts .stl files, that can be downloaded and optimized for 3D printing.
You can find 3D printableScan the Worldcontributions to Wikimedia Commons here.
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特色图像显示了梵蒂冈城梵蒂冈博物馆的Laocoön集团雕塑的3D模型。图片通过扫描世界/Wikimedia Commons
