Color Terrae is an AI-powered iOS app created to digitalize some of the main activities of the archaeologist: identification, analysis, classification and description of stratigraphic units following the Munsell color code.
It has the following features:
- Diary: as the name may suggest, it works as a notebook, but also as a photographic archive. Here user can write or record his thoughts during the day at the dig, and save all the pictures he has taken. In order to have a well structured archive, all the files (notes, voice memo and pics) are divided in three sections: recents, lists and all.
- Camera: it works as a standard smartphone camera, but with a game-changer feature.
In fact it uses an AI technology which comes into play with a colors detection function. AI is able to identify colors from pictures taken by the user, and to associate the photographed stratigraphic unit to a specific Munsell color code.
More precisely, AI technology analyses the picture and samples pixel by pixel in order to get the matching color unit related to a Munsell color code. There are 1000 hex color codes learned by the AI. Since most of them are pretty similar, they are grouped in 100 color units. Each color unit belongs to a Munsell color. Most hex color codes detected within a color unit will indicate the "winning" unit which is associated with a specific Munsell color.
- Settings: in this section, in addition to finding the familiar settings functions, user can switch to Dig Mode, an outdoor-optimized version of the app which can be really useful on archaeological dig days.
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Modern archaeological excavation is based on a stratigraphic reading of the ground. Soil, in fact, does not present itself as a uniform...
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Color Terrae is an AI-powered iOS app created to digitalize some of the main activities of the archaeologist: identification, analysis, classification and description of stratigraphic units following the Munsell color code.
It has the following features:
- Diary: as the name may suggest, it works as a notebook, but also as a photographic archive. Here user can write or record his thoughts during the day at the dig, and save all the pictures he has taken. In order to have a well structured archive, all the files (notes, voice memo and pics) are divided in three sections: recents, lists and all.
- Camera: it works as a standard smartphone camera, but with a game-changer feature.
In fact it uses an AI technology which comes into play with a colors detection function. AI is able to identify colors from pictures taken by the user, and to associate the photographed stratigraphic unit to a specific Munsell color code.
More precisely, AI technology analyses the picture and samples pixel by pixel in order to get the matching color unit related to a Munsell color code. There are 1000 hex color codes learned by the AI. Since most of them are pretty similar, they are grouped in 100 color units. Each color unit belongs to a Munsell color. Most hex color codes detected within a color unit will indicate the "winning" unit which is associated with a specific Munsell color.
- Settings: in this section, in addition to finding the familiar settings functions, user can switch to Dig Mode, an outdoor-optimized version of the app which can be really useful on archaeological dig days.
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Modern archaeological excavation is based on a stratigraphic reading of the ground. Soil, in fact, does not present itself as a uniform set of elements, but in layers called "stratigraphic units”; each of them is generally attributed to a human action.
This is why it is so important to "read" the stratigraphy correctly, because only by understanding it properly will it be possible to recreate all the individual steps that have led a site to become what it is today (or what it was in the past).
The main criteria for recognising and classifying stratigraphic units are color, components and consistency. The last two elements refer to the material characteristics of the unit, which are easy to identify by sight and by touch.
The color criteria, on the other hand, can often raise problems, already by defining color according to objective parameters.
A researcher's perception of color can be influenced by many internal and external variables.
The complexity of providing accurate color readings of a stratigraphic unit is therefore evident. However, the work becomes even more complicated when it comes to define tones and shades of a layer, which are essential for a correct understanding.
What is needed, then, is a standard way of defining soil colors, so that anyone wishing to access the excavation material can understand the color of the stratigraphic units.
The model developed by Albert Henry Munsell is very useful for this purpose, and is often used in archaeology because of its simplicity.
The Munsell system assigns a code to each color based on hue, chroma and saturation. By using this method, descriptive definitions that are frequently inaccurate or misleading can be abandoned.
Once aware of the multiple complexities in distinguishing ground layers, this kind of technology could help the archaeologist in at least three different phases:
1 - During the archaeological excavation, recognise the different layers, distinguish between them and note their characteristics. Since excavation is a disruptive activity (it is not possible to put pieces of ground back together once it is finished) it is necessary to have a full understanding of the morphology and structure of the layers before proceeding with any operation.
2 - During documentation to assign univocal color codes to the layers to avoid confusion or misunderstandings (or simply inaccuracies).
3 - During the study phase of the site, which usually takes place several months after the excavation and fieldworks.
Codified and univocal definitions can provide guidance for the reading of stratigraphic units and therefore of the whole site.
Furthermore, they would contribute to increasing clarity and proficiency of the documents to be presented to the authorities of the Superintendency and the Ministry.
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Software and tools: Adobe Illustrator (logo and brand identity), Sketch (wireframes, hi-fi mockups and prototype), Xcode / Swift UI + Core ML / Python (app and AI colors detector development).
