Multispectral Imaging System for Historical Artifacts (MISHA)
Many objects of interest in cultural heritage have been damaged, erased, or overwritten to the point where the original text is unreadable. Some contemporary materials, such as fax paper, have likewise degraded so that they appear as if printed with “invisible” ink. Other artifacts, such as works of art, may have been altered or re-touched. Fortunately, modern imaging tools can help to illuminate—literally and figuratively—these artifacts, enabling scholars to unveil information and more fully understand and interpret these objects.
This website focuses on a recent initiative in RIT’s interdisciplinary, collaborative work in cultural heritage imaging, preservation, and research—MISHA, which is a low-cost, low barrier-to-entry multispectral imaging system and software created by the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and the Museum Studies Program.
Background: Cultural Heritage Imaging at RIT
Faculty, staff, and students in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science at RIT have worked in Cultural Heritage Imaging for over 25 years. The Center’s unique interdisciplinary approach to imaging systems, as well as the focus on end-to-end imaging systems and analysis, has provided significant advances in the field in both image capture and image processing. Significantly, a large portion of this work has been carried out by students, both undergraduate and graduate, training the next generation of scientists and practitioners. These projects have spanned a wide range of artifact types (e.g., manuscripts, maps, globes, and paintings) and locations (e.g., North America, Europe, India, and others), continually producing new material for scholarly study based on these novel imaging approaches.
What is MISHA?
In 2020, RIT received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PR-268783-20) to develop an inexpensive portable imaging system with processing software that could be utilized by scholars and practitioners in library, archive, and museum settings. This system is called MISHA (Multispectral Imaging System for Historical Artifacts).
MISHA employs multispectral imaging (MSI), a technique used in cultural heritage imaging that involves taking numerous photographs of an object at different wavelengths of light—including those beyond the range of human sensitivity—to yield a digital “stack” of images that can been enhanced to bring out different features of the item, such as undertext.
The MISHA system, thus, comprises three elements: the light source; the camera, sensor, lens, and the platform and housing for image capture. Employing the capacity of multispectral imaging to divide the light spectrum into frequency bands and to record these independently, MISHA uses 16 light emitting diodes (LEDs), with each capture using a specific wavelength ranging from the ultraviolet to the visible and the near infrared. It uses 2 UV bands at 365nm and 385nm, 2 Near Infrared bands at 850nm and 940nm, with the 12 other bands in the visible range.
MISHA Team
The MISHA Project is one of several cultural heritage imaging projects undertaken at RIT. It is co-directed by Juilee Decker and David W. Messinger, faculty in museum studies and imaging science, respectively. Together with Roger L. Easton, Jr., Decker and Messinger co-direct the Cultural Heritage Imaging Lab at RIT.
Current and former participants in the MISHA research, education, and training initiative include the following individuals: research associates and post-docs: Tania Kleynhans and Morteza Maali Amiri (Ph.Ds in Imaging Science) and the following students: Courtney Barber, Amara Engel, and Katie Keegan (NEH interns, 2021, museum studies majors); Etta Arnold, Alana Bourgeois, Izzy Moyer (NEH interns, 2022, museum studies majors), and Parker Mei (2022 intern, imaging science major); James Falotico, Eliot Gavin, Izzy Moyer, Kyra Schultz, Gabriella Smith (NEH interns, 2023, museum studies majors), Kristof Lile (2023 intern, motion picture science major), and three high school interns (Jay, Jonas, and Thomas); Eliot Gavin, Renée Guerin, Gabriella Smith (2024 research assistants, museum studies majors), Joe Bianchi (2024 research assistant, imaging science major), Collin Fluke (2024 research assistant), Jada Graham (2024 graphic designer and research assistant), Sai Keshav Sasanapuri (2023-25 research assistant, MS computer science); and Sam Casimir, Rain Milligan, and Bella Paniccia (NEH interns, 2025, museum studies majors). To learn more about being a part of MISHA Team, email misha@rit.edu.
Resources
Download the MISHA system plans and software (free and open-source)
Other MISHA resources
Research
Eurographics Paper: Multispectral Imaging for Historical Artifacts: A Case Study Using an 8th-Century Biblical Scroll (eg.org)
Archiving, 2023 Presentation, Oslo: https://doi.org/10.2352/issn.2168-3204.2023.20.1.38
American Institute for Conservation 2023 Presnetation, https://doi.org/10.2352/issn.2168-3204.2023.20.1.38
Gallery Exhibition, 2023, https://www.rit.edu/universitygallery/node/216863
MISHA Community
If cultural heritage imaging or related areas of cultural heritage preservation and research are of interest to you, please consider joining us in person or online.
Online
The R-CHIVE (Rochester Cultural Heritage Imaging, Visualization, and Education) group was established in 2016. Hosted by RIT in collaboration with the University of Rochester, R-CHIVE convenes bi-weekly online meetings as a forum for presenting research and discussing topics of interest regarding cultural heritage imaging among university researchers, students, and practitioners. More information is here
In-person convenings
Established in 2022 at RIT, CHIPR is a community of RIT-affiliated faculty, students, and staff interested in advancing the fields of cultural heritage imaging, preservation, and research (CHIPR). Participants come from multiple colleges, as well as the Image Permanence Institute. CHIPR held its first symposium in August 2022: CHIPR Conference Held at RIT | RIT In the spring 2023, we began hosting informal gatherings on the RIT campus, with brief talks followed by discussions. To find our more, email misha@rit.edu.
In addition, we plan convenings to bring scholars, practitioners, and students together to learn about cultural heritage imaging an innovation. A list of previous conferences may be found here
Our first conference at an international location will be held in Dubrovnik in March 2025. More information available here
Beginning in the summer 2025, we will host a weeklong seminar on cultural heritage imaging and MISHA at RIT. Also in 2025, we will launch a free, asynchronous course on Cultural Heritage Imaging literacy. More details will be posted soon.
