New 3D viewers for nature and culture
In NAHIMA, the database for scientific collections at ETH Zurich, 3D models can now be displayed. There are also new developments in 3D viewers for cultural history collections.
The new 3D viewer in NAHIMA is the open-source Photogrammetry Viewer, which was developed by external page ULB Darmstadt and integrated into NAHIMA by an external service provider. The background and lighting of the models can be easily adjusted. Another useful feature is the option to measure the 3D models. Unlike other 3D viewers, this one allows you to display the 3D model and the 2D images at the same time. This view is particularly useful for models of very small objects such as insects, as it allows details to be displayed even better.
3D viewers for natural and cultural objects
The entomological collection is currently using the 3D viewer on NAHIMA. The earth science collections and the anatomical collection of domestic animals will also provide 3D models on NAHIMA in the future.
There are also new developments in the area of 3D viewers for cultural objects. While many libraries and cultural institutions have used the commercial viewer from Sketchfab due to a lack of alternatives, the open source 3D viewer external page Semantic Kompakkt, which was developed as part of an NFDI4Culture project, is now available. The project was set up by the external page Institute for Digital Humanities (IDH) at the University of Cologne and the external page Open Science Lab of the TIB / Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology. The viewer supports images, videos, audio files and 3D models, including point clouds and meshes. Annotations can be made and your own collections compiled. Media files can either be stored on your own infrastructure or uploaded objects can be embedded on other websites using an iframe.
ETH Library part of further development
The collection of scientific instruments and teaching aids was a partner in this project in 2024 within the framework of the one-year NFDI4Culture programme “Give your data more meaning,” and its 3D models served as a use case for the Semantic Kompakkt team to program the viewer. The requirements for the viewer were also largely determined by the program's partner institutions. An interface to Europeana and to Sketchfab, as well as the implementation of an IIIF viewer for 3D models, are still in development.
The viewer is available now. If you have any questions about the 3D viewer or the NAHIMA database, you can contact or the .