Synthonics to Create 3-D Replicas of Artifacts

Synthonics Technologies in Westlake Village has reached an agreement with the Smithsonian Institution and Centro Alameda, a San Antonio organization devoted to promoting Hispanic culture, to create 3-D digital replicas of historic artifacts that can be displayed or used for research.

As part of the contract, Synthonics will create digital images of a large collection of ancient wood-carved statues as a way of preserving the valuable art pieces so they can be viewed and studied without deterioration or harm.

The final replicas will be displayed at an international educational conference on Hispanic art and culture scheduled for May 14 through 17 in San Antonio.

The contract, one of Synthonics’ largest digital-content agreements to date, also calls for the software developer to provide Centro Alameda with analysis tools with which to study the 3-D models.

“Synthonics’ software is playing a vital role in our plans to bring a broad spectrum of Hispanic art and historical objects to one location,” said Henry Munoz, Centro Alameda president. “With the unveiling of this first-ever 3-D image database, we expect San Antonio to become an even more important venue for the collection and study of this type of cultural artifact.”

The project will feature statues of the Virgin Mary from the Smithsonian’s own collections.

This project “is a natural extension of Synthonics’ work this past year in developing an extremely accurate yet affordable way for museums and other collectors to turn their historical artifacts into accurate 3-D replicas that can be used for both academic examination and artistic appreciation,” said Mike Budd, Synthonics’ president and chief executive officer. “For the first time, museum curators can own and distribute full-depth images of any object in their collection.”