About Holopolis
Think of them as the keepers of our collective memory. Their mission is to preserve ancient history for future generations.
“Our 3D library and crowdsourcing tools enable the global community to participate in the preservation and reconstruction of ancient sites and artifacts.”
This is how they did it:
- The power of the crowd : Collecting photographs of historical sites through crowdsourcing.
- 3D Magic : Using these photos, detailed 3D models of buildings and artifacts are generated.
- Permanent Record : Their goal is to build the largest, most accessible, and most permanent 3D archive of cultural heritage on the Internet.
challenge
Traditional storage approaches could not meet their long-term vision due to limitations in collaboration, ongoing costs, and data permanence.
- Team collaboration issues : Storing 3D models on personal hard drives makes it difficult for globally distributed teams to collaborate.
- Financial pressure : Monthly cloud storage fees continue to eat into budgets, which is particularly detrimental to nonprofits.
- Fear of data loss : Traditional storage cannot provide the security they need. Once these models are lost, it is like losing a part of history forever.
“Storing files on hard drives made collaboration difficult since our team was spread across the world, and using cloud storage left us with endless monthly payments. So we started looking for decentralized storage options that could solve the problems of data permanence, accessibility, and cost at the same time.”
Solution
Holopolis chose the Arweave ecosystem, specifically leveraging AR.IO ’s Turbo uploader and the AR.IO Gateway to address these challenges.
Arweave is a blockchain-based storage solution that provides a permanent and immutable platform for storing digital assets. Arweave's "pay once, store forever" model eliminates recurring costs and enables permanent storage with a one-time fee.
Turbo is an ecosystem packaging tool running on AR.IO that can easily upload and manage 3D models in the Holopolis library. It provides folder structure adjustment, naming and license management functions to ensure that the file organization of Holopolis remains intact and is easy to share with the world.
The AR.IO Gateway improves the accessibility and reliability of the Holopolis archive, ensuring efficient data retrieval and distribution. Users do not need to interact directly with the Arweave protocol, making it easier for team members and the public to access the library.
Turbo offers a range of benefits including: cost-effective long-term storage, simple and easy-to-use user interface, built-in data authorization tools, support for batch upload/download
Before
- Ongoing storage costs
- Data instability
- Inefficient upload workflow
after
- Cost-effective disposable storage
- The data source is traceable and cannot be tampered with
- Intuitive user interface simplifies the upload process
Results
The integration of Arweave, Turbo, and the AR.IO Gateway has significantly changed Holopolis’ operations, helping it achieve its mission of cultural heritage preservation:
- Global Access : Any permanent file can be easily accessed from anywhere through the AR.IO Gateway.
- Cost savings : Arweave’s one-time payment model eliminates recurring cloud storage fees.
- Data Fortress : The 3D model of Holopolis has been carefully protected from loss or tampering, and preserved for future generations.
- Authenticity : With Arweave’s transparency and traceability, everyone can be confident that the model is authentic and free of forgeries.
- User-friendly experience : Turbo’s intuitive interface simplifies the process of uploading, managing, and accessing your 3D model library.
“On-chain. Unalterable. Permanent.”
Future plans
Holopolis' mission is to save as much history as possible. They are doing this by:
- Web scraping : mining 3D models from the internet (e.g. museum collections) and providing them with a permanent home.
- Fieldwork : Go to the site to scan and record ancient sites.
Holopolis proves that AR.IO is more than just technology, it’s a force for good. By making data permanent and accessible, they help us connect to the past and pave the way for a better future. Isn’t that amazing?
