Work-in-progress: Designing a 3D scanner for digital reconstruction of rare cultural artifacts

In this paper we describe one attempt to bridge humanities with technology in the design of a scanner to reconstruct 3D images of cultural items. The scanner will be used as an automated device to reconstruct 3D digital images of selected cultural artifacts from the Slavery in the Old South collection located at the prestigious Meek-Eaton Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. This project is an integrated design that involves a hardware solution and a software solution to create an automated 3D scanning system. This work represents a collaborative effort with the Museum to increase global access to their collections and to digitally preserve rare artifacts for extended use over time.