An Iron Age Jewellery With Digital Secrets
Under the ground in Uppåkra, just south of Lund, an ancient relic of one of northern Europe's major centres of power during the Iron Age is hidden. For over 1100 years people lived here, and so far only a very small part has been excavated. One of the items unearthed is the Völund jewelry, which was probably used as a costume buckle during the 9th century. On the piece of jewellery is an image of Völund, described as a son of a northern king in the Völundvädet in the Poetic Edda and in the Didrik saga, both originating from the 13th century.
Völund was an important figure in the stories of the time, and now Völund becomes important in 21st-century stories as well. In the 3D copy, Future by Lund's partners whatt.io and Lostboyslab embedded an NFC tag with a digital product passport, DPP. By following the digital link, the 200 visitors were able to Unexpec get product information but could also read about the historical object and the legend of Völund through a permanent and traceable link after a simple tap on the mobile. The DPP will be introduced on some products within the EU, and the intention of using DPP in an item under Unexpected was to demonstrate the potential of DPP. The EU wants to introduce the DPP to create transparency about manufacturing and materials and provide information on repair and recycling, but of course the DPP can also be used for other things — such as bringing historical objects to life.
The production of the copy was done by having the original piece of jewellery 3D scanned by researchers at Lund University and digitally reconstructed in detail by whatt.io. The result was a CAD model that was then used in additive manufacturing. The 200 copies were produced in a gold-like PLA filament at Lostboyslab, a 3D printing facility focused on sustainable and circular production. Both Lostboyslab and whatt.io are working with Future by Lund in the planning project MSCR, Multicircular and Sustainable Manufacturing Industry, to explore how to create a system demonstrator to help manufacturing industries and businesses make a green transition in line with the EU regulatory framework and new circular economy standards.
“This project bridges centuries,” says Stefan Larsson, founder of whatt.io in the company press release. We give ancient artifacts a digital voice and combine heritage and innovation to make history interactive and accessible.
At the same time, this was the debut of whatt.io's Dolores, an AI-powered agent that builds on ChatGPT's API and is seamlessly integrated with the whatt.io ecosystem. Dolores is designed to interact with users via voice or chat -- to answer questions, explain DPPs, and contextualize physical objects. The AI agent Dolores is capable of more than 100 languages but can also help with accessibility. Dolores should be able to answer questions, adapt to who it is who is asking and summarize texts.
On stage during Unexpected there was a successful test with Dolores, where MCRS project manager Lars Mattiasson asked Dolores questions on stage that gave answers about the Völund jewelry.
whatt.io, Future by Lund and Lostboyslab are part of the MCRS project funded by Vinnova, Formas, the Swedish Energy Agency and the Net-Zero Industry Initiative.
Future by Lund also works together with several members of the portfolio Archeology, cultural heritage, and immersive technology explores several ways in which digital technology can be used to bring history to life.
Caption: A fusion of archaeology, 3D printing and digital technology.
Read more:
Video showing Dolores with Völund Ornament
'The DPP will mean all steps in the chain must be transparent'
DPP shows the way for the future of manufacturing
