This presentation summarizes a small prototype done by Sandra Fauconnier (Wikimedia User:Spinster) at the #Hack4OpenGLAM Hackathon during the Creative Commons Summit, online, October 2020.
Multilingual structured data + free 3D models = ❤️
What I did this week: (please note that I’m not a coder): Uploaded ~30 hand-picked CC0-licensed 3D models from Sketchfab to Wikimedia Commons; After converting them to the free .stl format and rotating them (for aesthetic reasons) with the Blender software; Described these files (and the creative works they represent) in structured data; Played with a few integration and visualization ideas
⁉️ Frequently Asked Questions
🤷♀️ Why not just embed the Sketchfab models in Wikimedia/Wikipedia? Wikimedia projects only show/collect (and very broadly share!) free content; Hence: always local copies after strict copyright scrutiny
💫 Why no pretty textures? Patents in file formats :( Not a development priority at Wikimedia at the moment / insufficient resources.
In the past year or two, many cultural institutions and 3D scanning initiatives have made available really fantastic 3D models. There’s certainly been an explosion of content there, worth taking a look. See Thomas Flynn’s collection of CC0-licensed files.
This Wikimedia Commons category now has 97 files (of which I uploaded 30-ish), but the potential is much larger; there are many more very nice 3D models under Commons-compatible licenses on Sketchfab.
3D models can then be integrated in Wikipedia articles by hand. I did this one yesterday - the first plane ever flown by the Wright brothers, with a 3D model by the Smithsonian Institution which has this plane in its collection. It’s really a spectacular 3D model! This should be done in moderation - don’t spam Wikipedia.
Integration in this Wikipedia article (on Ukrainian Wikipedia) has actually happened automatically, because the infobox is Wikidata-driven (it pulls its data live from Wikidata, which includes 3D models linked there).
Here, you see a map generated through the Wikidata query endpoint (SPARQL engine) which shows all the 3D models currently linked on Wikidata that have geo coordinates. It’s a nice mix of works in collections, but also scans of heritage sites, public art, and even some rock formations.
Wikidata’s data is also used in many external websites and tools. This is just one example - Histropedia is a timeline tool that uses data from Wikipedia and Wikidata. This timeline shows sculptures with 3D models on Wikidata.
Some strengths of Wikimedia’s structured data
Multilingual - can be searched and discovered by people speaking any language; Wikidata’s data itself is CC0 and is re-used extremely widely; Want to give it a try? Here’s an easy first task: Translate Wikidata item ‘labels’ for 3D models to your language with Tabernacle