Recreating History-3D Printing Use Cases

The loss of historical artifacts feels devastating because of the sense that recreating them is impossible. The destruction of many Syrian heritage sites, such as the ancient city of Palmyra, at the hands of ISIS seemed to represent a dark and irreversible step backward. Through forward steps in 3D printing, we may soon be able to recreate—and ensure—the glories of the past.Through the Million Image Database project, a campaign to recreate the damaged ruins of Palmyra with 3D printing is underway. It uses 3D models of the site assembled from photographs to generate recreations that are, in scale and detail, true-to-history. Equally exciting, the same modeling techniques can also be extended to ensure the great masterpieces of artistic history against potential loss.Going forward, 3D printing will not only have a transformative effect on production and design—it will also be able to play a major role in affairs of international and historical importance.