The Natural History Museum in London has been awarded a £155 million initiative to digitise the UK’s natural science collections. Funded by UK Research and Innovation and overseen by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the project known as DiSSCo UK will see approximately 90 museums across the country participating. The aim is to digitise over 137 million items from natural science collections, which are crucial for researchers seeking solutions to pressing global issues such as biodiversity loss and food security.
The museum’s Director, Doug Gurr, emphasised the significance of this initiative, stating that it will revolutionize the field of global science. By leveraging AI and robotics, the museum hopes to impact sectors like food, health, energy, and the environment. Science Secretary Michelle Donelan highlighted the importance of this project, stating that researchers can use museum collections to address global problems like climate change-resistant crops and identifying future pandemic locations through the study of bats.
In addition to digitisation efforts, the museum’s scientists are exploring the possibility of using a robot arm to photograph specimens more efficiently than humans. This innovation could significantly increase the scale, speed, and impact of the digitisation project across the UK. The Natural History Museum houses a collection of 80 million specimens, nearly 6 million of which have already been digitised and published. With this new initiative in place, researchers will have access to an even greater wealth of data that could help them tackle ecological challenges for generations to come.
