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- How millions of specimens became accessible for research
With its vast collection of 37 million biological and geological objects, Naturalis is one of the top biodiversity centers in the world. They receive ongoing research requests both at home in the Netherlands and abroad. Picturae utilized ultramodern digitization technology to make the entire herbarium collection of 5 million specimens accessible to research scientists across the globe.
Careful, consistent quality at cutting-edge speed
How did we ensure that this collection would be globally accessible for scientists, researchers and the general public? The challenge was multifaceted; first, digitize quickly, accurately, and with great respect for the fragility of the material. At the same time, keep the sequential order intact, and ensure the highest quality results possible. Then, all labels must be transcribed and checked for accuracy before final delivery.
The Herbarium Digistraat
The herbarium specimen requirements were highly specialized, and so was the solution - Picturae’s Herbarium Digistreet was born. Our digitization and software specialists met with Naturalis' collection managers to meticulously map out all of the necessary preparatory steps, specific points of attention for dealing with herbaria, and the overall digitization and delivery process. Our engineers then began developing a cutting-edge assembly-line-style conveyor belt system, while Naturalis set to work preparing their herbarium sheets.
18.000 herbarium sheets per day!
The conveyor belt, driven by our innovative software, made it possible to digitize 18,000 herbarium sheets each day. Every image included a color target that checked for specifications such as color levels and overall resolution. Our technology and automation processes worked so well that up to 200,000 specimens were scanned per week! Beautiful, crisp images of all 5 million specimens were captured and quality assessed within 9 months.
