Project

AURORA will create an effective artwork digital identity by analysing art piece deep layers chemical composition (insensible to superficial alterations), permanently and unalterably stored, to improve cultural heritage management by means of a stable physical-to-digital identity connection.

Mission

AURORA mission is to create a cultural heritage preservation and protection tool employing a robust cost-effective solution to track artworks position and transactions, and fast assess their authenticity, through an easy-to-use methodology for stakeholders operating in the field of artifacts management and protection as art dealers, curators, museum managers, auction houses, policy makers, logistics services, and law enforcement agents.

Objective

AURORA aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a non-destructive and efficient cost-effective practical solution for artwork authenticity verification process and tracking, paving the way for an advanced non-invasive art piece countermeasure system against illegal activities targeting cultural heritage

To develop a non-destructive anti-counterfeiting marker based on advanced chemical and spectroscopy technologies to uniquely identify cultural heritage art pieces, preventing illegal trafficking

Providing a miniaturized device enabling the traceability of cultural goods artworks using wireless sensor network technology.

Delivering a robust and simple artwork authenticity verification digital tool exploiting blockchain based solution to prevent unintentional or illegal artwork digital identity data alteration

Validating the AURORA protection, identification, and traceability innovation package on real artifacts

To increase awareness among stakeholders on methods and tools to prevent artworks illicit trafficking, stealing and destruction, tackling cultural heritage identity memory destruction

Impacts

AURORA results will be beneficial on the one hand, for the legal field of the art market, as digital identity could be a code that can be used in contracts for the identification of cultural goods. On the other hand, public administrations will make use of the AURORA tools to unequivocally census the assets of their cultural heritage and to verify their movement.