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Time Time Machine Manifesto Big Data of the Past for the Future of Europe | May 2019
TIME MACHINE LONG STORY SHORT
Time Machine aims to develop the Big Data of the Past, creating a huge distributed digital Goals of the Key areas of action – Towards a
information system mapping the European social, cultural and geographical evolution Time Machine initiative the research and innovation pillars Time Machine Ecosystem
across times. This large-scale digitisation and computing infrastructure will enable Europe
• Introduce a series of fundamental break- • Addressing the scientific and technological A vibrant Time Machine community has
to turn its long history, as well as its multilingualism and multiculturalism, into a living
throughs in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and challenges in AI, Robotics and ICT for been created in the last years and is current-
social and economic resource.
ICT, making Europe the leader in the social interaction, for developing the Big ly expanding to form a dense Time Machine
“This manifesto is a call to By pushing the frontiers of scientific
research in Information and Communication
the feeling of European identity, as well
as to boosting scientific and technological
extraction and analysis of enormous sets
of noisy, heterogeneous and complex
Data of the Past, while further advancing
these key enabling technologies (Pillar 1).
ecosystem of leading scientists, innovators
and other key players of civil society.
launch an ambitious European Technologies (ICT) and in the Social Sciences competitiveness, entrepreneurship and data referring to our past and present
• Designing and building the Time Ma- As of May 2019, this community counts
large-scale research initiative to and Humanities (SSH), Time Machine will
strongly impact key sectors of European
employment in knowledge-intensive and
creative sectors across the European Union.
activities and achievements.
chine operation, by putting in place the 300 partners from 34 countries, comprising
• Enable Social Sciences and Humanities constituent parts of the Time Machine a large number of academic and research
create the ‘Big Data of the Past’ economy: ICT software, especially Aug-
This Manifesto calls upon Member States to address bigger issues, allowing new infrastructure and the management prin- partners, leading industries and innovative
mented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) appli-
that will transform our culture, cations; the creative industries; and tourism.
and European Institutions to support the interpretative models that can smoothly ciples and processes for sustainable Time small and medium-sized enterprises, key
launch of Time Machine within the Horizon transition between the micro-analysis Machine communities across Europe and European museums, national libraries, state
traditions and achievements Moreover, it will offer new perspectives
Europe research and innovation framework of single artefacts and the large-scale other parts of the world (Pillar 2). archives, as well as government bodies and
in urban planning, land management and
into a vital resource for shaping developing smart cities.
programme and other European, National
and Regional funding programmes, by
complex networks of European history
and culture.
• Creating innovation platforms in prom-
policy makers.
our future, while safeguarding Time Machine will have strong positive providing the means and resources needed
• Be a driver of open science, as well as
ising application areas, by bringing
together developers and users for the
The target is to exceed the number of 2000
supporting organisations from Europe and
our cohesion and identity.” long-term effects on European cohesion,
economy and society, with concrete contri-
for the proposed long-term effort to reach
its ambitious objectives.
open (public) access to public resources. exploitation of scientific and technological worldwide in the beginning of 2020.
achievements, and therefore leveraging
butions to promoting critical thinking at all • Provide a constant flux of knowledge that
the cultural, societal and economic impact
levels of decision making, to strengthening will have a profound effect on education,
of Time Machine (Pillar 3).
encouraging reflection on long trends and
sharpening critical thinking. • Developing favourable framework condi-
tions for the outreach to all critical target
• Act as an economic motor for new pro-
groups, and for guiding and facilitating
fessions, services and products, impact-
the uptake of research results produced
ing key sectors of European economy.
in the course of the initiative (Pillar 4).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. WHY EUROPE NEEDS TO ACT NOW 06 4. CONCRETE AND MOMENTOUS OUTCOMES AND IMPACT 16
Globalisation, changing demographics and unresolved conflicts threaten the European sense of belonging 06 A thorough dialogue with our past 16
Democratic dialogue is endangered by the dominion of private digital platforms 06 A transformational impact on Social Sciences and Humanities 16
An urgent need for Europe to strengthen its engagement with its past 07 Making education more accessible, interactive and diversified 17
An opportunity to go far beyond preservation of the European cultural heritage and envisage ‘time travelling’ 07 A strong boost in European competitiveness in Big Data, AI and other ICT areas 17
Enhancing key sectors of the European economy 19
A strong ally to counteract gender bias 23
2. THE VISION AND THE HOLISTIC APPROACH 10 The strong international perspective for European excellence 23
A clear vision, based on the Big Data of the Past 10
An integrated programme to ensure the required progress in different fronts 11
5. THE TIME MACHINE ECOSYSTEM 24
The Coordination and Support Action implementation 24
3. ADVANCING THE STATE OF THE ART 14 How interested parties can be involved 24
The broader Time Machine partnership 24
The Time Machine Organisation 26
04 05
1. WHY EUROPE NEEDS TO ACT NOW
Not only is the integrity of European cultural identity imperilled by the resurgence of unresolved conflicts An urgent need for Europe to such as values and ideas, are the essential
deep-seated in European history, but democratic dialogue is endangered by the dominion of private strengthen its engagement with building blocks of local, national, and trans-
Ministerial declaration of cooperation on advancing
BOX 1
national identities, and are indispensable for
platforms over historical and cultural data. Time Machine addresses these crucial European phenomena. its past preparing individuals and societies to face
digitisation of cultural heritage
These unprecedented transformations the challenges of an uncertain future. This historic declaration2 formally recognises that “nat-
create a vital need for Europe to restore and ural disasters, pollution, mass tourism, deterioration
Globalisation, changing demo- To-date, however, increased globalisation, Today, the dialogue between different actors
intensify its engagement with its past as a
To the same extent that today’s genetics
over time, terrorism and vandalism, create urgent need
changing demographics and their threat and the historical visions they embody is may work to the benefit of physical health,
graphics and unresolved conflicts means of facilitating an evidence-based dia- to make the most of digital technologies to record,
against the idea of a shared past, as well complicated by the rise of private digital understanding the interactions between
threaten the European sense as the resurgence of unresolved conflicts platforms that have created a new space of
logue between diverse historical memories,
cultural heritage and identities contributes
document and preserve Europe’s cultural heritage and
their values and mutual interdependencies foster their accessibility to European citizens.”
of belonging deep-seated in European memory, are opinion-leadership, as well as new forms of
and building a common path for existing
substantially to the quality, character and
key drivers of a ‘localisation backlash’ that political expression and participation. resilience of the individual and of society. The Notre Dame de Paris tragedy that followed only a
Over the centuries, the national, regional and future generations.
places local and personal interests above few days later sadly underlines that we cannot act fast
and local identities of Europe have evolved Managed by proprietary algorithms, such
in relation to one another, through large
any other. These growing trends present a
platforms may prioritise popularity and per-
Time Machine responds to this need by An opportunity to go far beyond enough in this area.
clear threat to the cohesiveness of European building the required infrastructure, and an
swathes of transnational mobility and
cultural identity and sense of belonging.
sonal agendas over historical and cultural
operational environment for developing the
preservation of the European To face such threats, Member States have decided
through dense commercial and cultural data, opening the way to fake news. In cultural heritage and envisage to join forces in developing key technologies for
Big Data of the Past that will streamline his-
exchanges that have shaped European the resulting crisis of authority that affects transforming the processing of and the access to
languages, traditions, arts and many other Democratic dialogue is endan- journalism, academia and politics, many
tory and culture across Europe, opening the ‘time travelling’ cultural heritage.
way for scientific and technological progress
aspects of human activity. gered by the dominion of private people do not trust anymore the information
to become a powerful ally to safeguarding
In April 2019, 24 countries1 signed a land-
digital platforms received from these institutions. mark declaration of cooperation for advancing
These processes have largely contributed European identity and democratic values.
digitisation of cultural heritage (Box 1). in Time Machine, together with another
to the creation of a European culture char-
Pluralistic and democratic dialogue in Europe The importance of Time Machine can be critical element referring to fostering the
acterised by diverse historical memories, The focus of joint efforts is on Big Data, arti-
has traditionally been facilitated by impor- most clearly seen in relation to the role of development of common open interoperable
which have laid the foundations to values ficial intelligence, augmented reality and 3D
tant intermediaries, such as cultural media cultural heritage in processes that shape a standards for the processing and storing of
and ideas harmonised by pluralistic and and the development of European platforms
and institutions acting as cornerstones of our European identity. Heritage is our cultural cultural heritage assets.
democratic dialogue. in line with European values. These tech-
shared values, principles and memories. DNA. Material objects, such as artworks and
nological advances have been incorporated
monuments, as well as intangible heritage,
“Our focus is on the joint efforts on Big Data, artificial intelligence,
augmented reality, 3D and the development of European platforms
in line with European values.”
1 Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
06 2 Scanned and signed declaration “Cooperation on advancing digitisation of cultural heritage”: ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/eu-member-states-sign-cooperate-digitising-cultural-heritage 07
Local Time Machines
BOX 2
Even though the Time Machine infrastructure is built
to enable cooperation across Europe, it simultane-
ously creates vertical synergies between clusters
But it should be stressed that for Time Deploying itself both horizontally – across of actors operating in the same area. For example,
Machine partners, digitisation is only the Europe – and vertically – in time, first for some cities can become Local Time Machines.
first step of a long series extraction process- specific geographic locations through the
This occurs when a number of Time Machine part-
es including document segmentation and Local Time Machines (Box 2) and then
ners operating in close geographical proximity to
understanding, alignment of named entities progressively in the entire territory, Time
one another decide to join forces in creating a full
and simulation of hypothetical spatiotemporal Machine offers a sustainable approach not
spatiotemporal representation of the area. These
4D reconstructions. Time Machine offers a only to safeguard European cultural heritage
efforts, currently ongoing in 14 European cities, will
realistic scenario to progressively move from but also to transform it into a living resource
also become formalised in the coming months. as a
dense information networks to actual 4D for Europe’s future.
new pan-European alliance, Time Machine Organi-
worlds. To go back in time in cities such as
sation, comes online.
Venice, Paris, Amsterdam, Antwerp or Jeru-
salem, one would need to jump from using Local Time Machines evolve through successive
a dense network of information, the result steps in their maturity, from formal declaration of
of transparent interpretation processes from interest, to official partnership, and on to higher
reliable sources, to a continuous simulation density of cross-linked information, population and
representing the multi-scale evolution of the urban reconstruction.
city and its population.
The hypothesis pursued by Time Machine is
Examples of Local Time Machines:
that such computational models with an
extended temporal horizon are key resources • Amsterdam: amsterdamtimemachine.nl
for developing new approaches to policy mak-
• Budapest: hungaricana.hu/en/budapest-idogep
ing and services for the citizens and consumers.
• Utrecht: utrechttimemachine.com
• Venice: vtm.epfl.ch
A list of all Local Time Machines in the making
is available on the Time Machine website:
timemachine.eu/time-machines
“With Time Machine, we will offer a realistic
scenario to progressively move from dense
information networks to actual 4D worlds.”
08 09
“We will develop tools, forms of analysis and modelling proce-
2. THE VISION dures that combine Big Data from multiple sources to explain
phenomena that extend over large periods of time, and/or affect
AND THE HOLISTIC APPROACH extended regions of populations.”
Time Machine will use space and time as shared references across domains, disciplines and cultures, to An integrated programme to The game changer nature is associated with cially Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR)
understand and give value to constructions, artefacts, observations and data produced over centuries. ensure the required progress in the ‘longue durée’, a term previously used to applications; the creative industries; and
describe the temporal horizon for SSH re- tourism – while offering new perspectives
different fronts search, that has acquired a new meaning as for urban planning and the development of
A clear vision, based on the This enlarged dataset will be the basis for in Figure 1C); this enormous volume of data To obtain the necessary data for such a a result of the Big Data presently available for smart cities.
simulating possible pasts in order to reach will also boost modelling capacity, enabling reconstruction of European history and cul- digital analysis from historic, cultural, govern-
Big Data of the Past an unprecedented density of information: us to make evidence-based predictions for ture, Time Machine aims at developing new mental, economic and ecological sources.4
Taking into account these considerations,
the Time Machine framework is built around
The scientific vision behind Time Machine is the Big Data of the Past (light purple area the future (light turquoise area in Figure 1C). technologies allowing for the rapid digitisation
This new approach will also be enhanced by the following specific objectives:
structured around Big Data of the Past. of massive amounts of fragile documents,
radical changes in education: Time Machine
The concept is illustrated in Figure 1, where objects, architecture and patrimonial sites • addressing the grand scientific and tech-
will promote a stronger focus on automated
the amount of digital information available Future from European heritage. nological challenges at hand,
adaptive and exploratory learning, more in-
today for each historical period (horizontal
Digital Simulation Meanwhile, high-performance computing teractive processes binding generations and • developing and operating the large-scale
axis) is plotted against time (vertical axis). Information Digitisation Hypothesis
clusters3 will be used to process this mass cultures, and a greater breadth of knowl- shared Time Machine infrastructure,
Information about the most recent years is of documents using increasingly smart edge across disciplines.
• converting the research results into inno-
abundant, forming the large plateau - the machine reading algorithms, segmenting,
Fundamental breakthroughs in Artificial vation platforms in promising application
Big Data of the Present – at the top of the Present indexing and transcribing their content,
20th century Intelligence, Robotics and ICT are envisioned, areas and
curve that shrinks rapidly as one moves and ultimately making them representable,
Industrial Revolution requiring intensive collaborations amongst
down the graph and back in time (Figure 1A). analysable and searchable, like any other • maximising outreach to all critical target
the leading EU actors of these fast-evolv-
record/artefact searched for on the web. groups and supporting the uptake of
Time Machine aims at enlarging the stem Enlightenment ing disciplines that drive the Fourth Indus-
research results.
of this funnel, by developing the technology Renaissance trial Revolution. These breakthroughs will
and infrastructure for conducting massive strongly impact key sectors of European
digitisation and processing of cultural herit- Middle Ages
economy – including ICT software, espe-
age sources (Figure 1B).
Antiquity
Past A B C
FIGURE 1: Creating the Big Data of the Past:
(A) Current situation. (B) Extension based on digitisation and processing of new sources. (C) Extension based on simulation.
3 such as the ones to be developed through the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking – eurohpc-ju.europa.eu
10 4 Guldi, J. and Armitage, D. 2014. The History Manifesto. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 11
Accordingly, Time Machine is structured in The integrated programme that is pro-
PILLAR 1 PILLAR 2 PILLAR 3
four pillars, each serving one of the above posed can be a strong basis for creating the
objectives. The Time Machine pillars are required large-scale research coordination Science and Technology
shown in Figure 2, together with their the- in all relevant fields, bringing together key Time Machine Operation Exploitation Avenues
for the Big Data of the Past
matic areas. stakeholders from academia, archives,
museums, and the business sector, and creat-
The required extensive, long-term and sus- Data P.1.1 Infrastrucutre P.2.1 Scholarship P.3.1
ing partnerships within and between Member
tained effort in these directions exceeds by
States and European bodies involved with
far what can be achieved in typical national
culture, cultural heritage, creative industries
or European research and innovation pro-
and territorial management. Computing P.1.2 Community Management P.2.2 Education P.3.2
jects. Moreover, as digital preservation of
cultural heritage is a priority in almost every
Member State of the European Union, it is
crucial to align national research agendas Theory P.1.3 Local Time Machines P.2.3
Platforms for Specific P.3.3
Exploitation Areas and Uses:
and manage multiple projects and networks
in different European countries and cities. • Galleries, Libraries, Archives,
A large-scale research initiative is needed to Museums – GLAM
drive simultaneous progress on all fronts, • C
reative Media and
Entertainment Industries
creating synergies and multiplying the
effects from different sources of funding "A large-scale research • Smart Tourism
• Smart Cities and Urban Planning
(Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, ESIF,
Private investments), structuring national
initiative is needed to • Land Use and Territoral Policies
research agendas around commonly agreed drive simultaneous
topics and managing multiple projects and
networks in different European countries progress on all fronts, PILLAR 4
and cities. creating synergies and Outreach and Innovation
multiplying the effects Dissemination P.4.1 Legal Issues and Ethics P.4.2 Knowledge Transfer P.4.3
Exploitation P.4.4
from different sources Support Structures
of funding.”
FIGURE 2: The Time Machine Pillars and Thematic Areas
12 133. ADVANCING THE STATE OF THE ART
Thematic Area State of the Art With Time Machine
PILLAR
1 Data Fragmented datasets only sparsely covering European
Cultural Heritage.
Large sets of aligned and standardised Cultural Heritage data.
Computing Disorganised sets of academic tools most of the time Development of a unique computing infrastructure dedicated to the massive extraction of
developed for specific projects based on state-of- knowledge in Cultural Heritage sources, probably the most advanced artificial intelligence
the-art technology. Very few systems considering the system ever built.
temporal dimension.
Theory Digital Humanities analysis of current practices Largest effort ever undertaken to build a critical theory and sound epistemological
on the role of computing for the Humanities and concept on digital Cultural Heritage and multi-level historical simulation.
Social Sciences.
PILLAR
2 Infrastructure A number of European coordination initiatives of
Cultural Heritage with consortia, infrastructures and
Reinforcement and extension of these initiatives with shared computing infrastructure
for processing and transforming digital Cultural Heritage at unprecedented scale. Coope-
networks like EUROPEANA, Europa Nostra, ration with initiatives for optimising computing infrastructure, e.g. EuroHPC JU.
DARIAH-ERIC, CLARIN-ERIC, CERL and ICARUS.
Community Management Many communities dedicated to specific topics – A large community of communities, sharing a standardised platform,
limited exchange due to lack of shared data or concepts. with more empowering tools.
Local Time Machines Uncoordinated efforts to recreate the past of several A franchise-based system enabling each initiative to benefit from the highest level of
cities in Europe. technology and rapidly develop sustainable models of development.
PILLAR
3 Scholarship platform Global commercial search engines are the mediators of
our access to knowledge and culture.
Time Machine’s open and transparent interfaces, not only analysing the pulsations of the
present, but embracing wider geographical and temporal horizons, transforming the way
we study, visualise and narrate the past and the future.
Education platform Books and video about history and culture. Some on- Massive Open Online Courses, immersive and interactive experiences, engaging material
line lectures. for students and continuous life-long learning. Development of a dynamic new industry
for the production of educative digital material, based on aligned massive datasets.
Specific Exploitation Cultural Heritage seen as a cost more than a source Fast development of market-driven platforms of Time Machine to develop relevant
and Uses platforms of innovation, with remaining silos and difficulties to services for GLAM5, the creative industries, smart tourism, smart cities, and land use
manage solutions truly valorising all available data and and territorial policies.
across time. Users regard Time Machine as a means to interact with authorities and contribute to
Citizens regard policies as a European burden. policy making.
14 5 GLAM: Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums 15“We want to innovate access to cultural heritage by creating par-
4. CONCRETE AND MOMENTOUS ticipatory platforms, allowing for a ‘polyvocal history’, that also
includes citizens’ perspectives on the places and information that
OUTCOMES AND IMPACT are relevant for them and their lives.”
Time Machine will create new disruptive business models in key economic sectors and will have trans A crucial leap forward is Time Machine’s oping strategic answers to major challenges, will be a stronger focus on exploratory
formational impact on Social Sciences and Humanities. Additionally, Time Machine will make education promise of delivering unified access to Eu- such as sustainable growth, social welfare, learning, encouraging reflection on long
rope’s past as linked open data. This will rev- migration and integration of migrants, and trends that have shaped our present.
more accessible, interactive and diversified and boost EU competitiveness in AI and ICT significantly. olutionise the individual researcher’s search safeguarding European democracy.
New interdisciplinary methods will also be
capabilities, ranging from yielding
developed across the traditional scientific
A thorough dialogue in person, citizens are, for the most part, full-time equivalent positions. The SSH
immensely rich results for simple term queries, Making education more accessible, domains, making use of the advances in
to the option of exhaustively tracking individ-
with our past excluded from accessing, navigating, and research spending, however, is substantial-
ual cultural artefacts through time and space,
interactive and diversified AI, the new modelling capabilities in SSH,
benefitting from this Big Data of the Past. ly lower than 30 % of the overall research and new simulation capabilities in most of
including texts, paintings, ideas or places. Time Machine will develop new ways of
The digitisation of European cultural heritage This data is every citizen’s shared heritage; spending, and is often lower than 20 % in the scientific and educational domains, and
delivering education, moving away from
represents a formidable challenge, both it should not be ‘exclusive’. many countries. Moreover, Big Data of the Past will enhance offering more depth to educational curricula,
the traditional approaches of classroom
in terms of cost and in its implementation. our ability to deal with historical information, sharpening the critical thinking of learners,
Time Machine now changes the game The main reason seems to be that research lectures, textbooks and printed materials,
Moreover, only a small number of artefacts and in this way, it will drive SSH towards and contributing to informed decision-mak-
radically: for the first time in history, every projects in SSH are traditionally more limited and making use of localised and customised
in collecting institutions is actually made larger problems of world events and insti- ing at all levels.
citizen will be able to access historical data in scale and scope compared to the exact sample data at different – and extremely
publicly available, while billions of digital tutional development over longer periods of
and actively engage with it by contributing sciences. This limitation stems primarily enhanced – levels of detail, enabling learn-
records still need to be indexed, so that they
their own stories and interpretations. This from the lack of easily accessible digital
time. The abundance of new data about the
ing to be accompanied with new levels of A strong boost in European
can be searched and analysed. past and the development of a new gen-
is also important because everything in our datasets that cover multiple modalities
eration of AI will allow new interpretative
analysis. The interactive environments that competitiveness in Big Data, AI
Time Machine will offer new technologies, lives today builds upon a narrative that Time (text, sound, image) indexed using uniform will be developed will not only offer unprec- and other ICT areas
models to be built on a superior scale.
methods and protocols to address these Machine will allow to be documented. metadata systems. Efficiently exploiting the edented access to the records of our shared
challenges through mass digitisation cam- available datasets as linked open data in SSH Identifying larger patterns, correlations and past, it will also promote active engagement Time Machine will develop new smart algo-
paigns across the whole of Europe, covering A transformational impact on still requires a considerable degree of expert connections will contribute to important with that heritage, which will make learning rithms that can meaningfully extract information
also landscapes, cityscapes and architec- domain knowledge, for example in ancient advances in scientific approaches and meth- an on-going and inclusive process that will and create knowledge from noisy, heteroge-
ture, enabling the EU Member States to
Social Sciences and Humanities languages, which prevents scholars from odologies that open new frontiers in our bind generations and cultures. neous and complex data at a massive scale,
reach their ambitious objectives for Cultural Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) answering large-scale research questions. capacities for in-depth analysis and informed from medieval manuscripts, collections of
In this way, European history will become
Heritage preservation and access. accounts for well above 40 % of students in decision making. objects and cultural artefacts, to the recent
much more accessible to citizens of all ages
European Higher Education. SSH is also the smartphone and satellite images, and the multi-
Due to barriers such as being able to read Time Machine will, therefore, drastically and backgrounds, raising awareness of
largest European research community, with modal content from websites and platforms.
old writings, to understand other languages, raise the scale and scope of SSH research, European culture, and consolidating our shared
more than 30 % of EU researchers in Higher
or to visit the relevant archives or libraries enabling it to effectively contribute to devel- European identities. At the same time, there
Education, corresponding to about 500.000
16 17"We will develop novel scanning technologies to digitise massive amounts of fragile
documents and artefacts, through new types of sensors, robots and automated
processes. These will provide rapid scanning solutions in science, industrial archives,
public administration, and potentially in services for consumers."
Due to this data’s inherent complexity, an AI and deployment already during and after in digital form, offering a clear opportunity Enhancing key sectors of the to produce immersive, multi-sensorial expe-
trained on Big Data of the Past will offer a the end of the proposed initiative. for European start-ups to compete in the European economy riences of historic sites from different peri-
strong competitive advantage for Europeans growing Document Process Outsourcing ods, and customise them according to their
The simulation capabilities substantially
in the global AI race. market, currently dominated by American Creative Industries needs. Four-dimensional cinema and virtual
enhanced by Time Machine will have a major
and Asian players (Box 3). The European creative industries contribute reality experiences on large (amusement
The new processing and simulation technol- impact on all areas of research in science
6.8 % of gross domestic product (GDP) park) and small (AR/VR headsets) scales
ogies of Time Machine, combined with its and engineering that use HPC to process
and 6.5 % of employment in the EU, at the will represent a new market for photorealistic
global curation and exploitation platforms, large volumes of data, including life and
same time offering a strong potential for 3D models and digitised audio-visual assets.
will enable Europe to increase its share of environmental sciences, as well as SSH. These
stimulating innovation in other sectors with
gains from the announced AI revolution. technological breakthroughs will also have a Possible applications for massive ##DESIGN
BOX 3
a competitive edge, such as tourism, educa-
Time Machine will also introduce disruptive strong impact on the European software and digitisation may include: Time Machine will harness the potential of
tion and advertising.
technologies in deep reading, linguistic and software-based services industry, one of European heritage as a resource for creative
• Administrative registries to
knowledge systems, multimodal (4D) simu- the top drivers of Europe’s industrial perfor- Time Machine introduces disruptive techno- reuse. Tools developed to analyse complex
be used for studying policies,
lation, high performance computing (HPC) mance, and a key contributor to EU growth. logical solutions which will transform cultural multimodal digital objects will enable design-
legislation or social norms in
and long-term data storage. heritage into rich creative assets. ers to extract individual aesthetic features
Time Machine will develop novel scanning different societies and points
and concepts and re-appropriate them for
Many of the advances developed by Time technologies to digitise massive amounts in time;
new creations, from fashion to architecture.
Machine would require advanced software, of fragile documents and artefacts, through Specifically, the following creative
• Health archives and records Advanced 3D modelling technologies com-
an area in which many European companies new types of sensors, robots and automated industries sectors will benefit from
in Europe and beyond: turning bined with decentralised storage solutions
have world-leading roles. Time Machine will processes. These will provide rapid scanning Time Machine:
these to digital records would will present new opportunities for real-time
further enhance their leadership, through solutions in science, industrial archives, pub-
enable scientists to perform ##GAMING AND FILM INDUSTRIES visualisations of objects and enable trans-
scientific and technological achievements lic administration, and potentially in services
joint analyses of patient re- Due to the inaccessibility and costs of film- national, remote collaborative design
in rapidly growing segments of the global for consumers.
ports, and other vital parameters ing in historic locations, the use of detailed processes. These enhanced engagement
ICT industry. All the core components of the
Massive increases in demand for scanning crucial for developing health 3D reconstruction will become increasingly possibilities will translate into new avenues
Time Machine infrastructure will be devel-
services would lead to economies of scale policies and health manage- relevant for film and game makers. Mass- for creators to exploit cultural heritage
oped as open source software, ensuring that
and falling costs, and falling costs would ment practices. scale digitisation will remove spatial and sources as digital capital.
the large-scale research initiative creates a
further boost demand. As a result, vast temporal barriers to cultural heritage: using
legacy of code that can be corrected, reused
amounts of materials and data from practi- complex 3D models constructed from rich
and adapted for continuous development
cally unvisited archives would be accessible heterogeneous sources, creators will be able
18 19##MEDIA of their audiences. Time Machine will fulfil Time Machine will contribute to
BOX 4
With online video content expected to this need via deep reading tools that can the emerging need to strengthen
constitute 82 % of all internet traffic in effectively analyse and assess the quality of GLAM by offering these institu-
2019, media professionals will continue to digital objects. To remain competitive in the tions and their collections new
develop competitive business models and changing landscape, media agencies will ways of exploitation, based on:
services that focus on providing seamless utilise the distributed processing and simu-
• Promotion of innovative ser-
user experiences across devices and media lation infrastructure introduced by the Time
vices through research, educa-
types and increasing the reach of their con- Machine to synthesise disparate datasets
tional and creative activities;
tent. Time Machine will introduce disruptive into facts and narratives that offer new, more
high-performance computing and storage transparent and engaging perspectives. • New opportunities in fundraising
technologies for the curation, enrichment and brand licensing combined
##GALLERIES, LIBRARIES, ARCHIVES,
and distribution of audio-visual content. with cost savings associated
MUSEUMS – GLAM
Building on these technological innovations with rights and reproduction
The largest part of European cultural her-
and the availability of much richer datasets, management overhead;
itage can be found in the many galleries,
media industries will develop smart services
libraries, archives and museums spread • Employment of staff with
of a new level of quality that will close the
across the EU. Digitisation and open ac- more mission-critical activities,
gap between media content and audiences
cess dramatically change the way these resulting in more efficient and
by offering personalised experiences.
institutions operate, putting in question less costly digitisation functions.
##JOURNALISM current business models and funding
The lowered barriers for content creation mechanisms (Box 4).
and distribution via digital platforms has
##SMART TOURISM
given rise to an unprecedented abundance
Europe is the most visited tourism region in in smart tourism, i.e. in smart, innovative
of data that currently lacks effective verifica-
the world, and in the EU, tourism contributes and inclusive approaches to touristic de-
tion and curation methods. Moving forward,
10 % to EU GDP and creates jobs for 26 velopment, paying particular attention to
the industry will rely even more on citizen
million people, through its direct, indirect cultural heritage and creativity. As a resource,
journalism as well as computational journal-
and induced effects in the economy. To Time Machine is uniquely placed to revo-
ism, both of which require knowledge-
compete with strong competition from other lutionise smart tourism, through the rich,
validation mechanisms to maintain the trust
world regions, Europe intensively invests multi-faceted and comprehensive cultural
20 21“We will create a sharp increase in the demand for digital and traditional humanists
and social scientists at a time where these disciplines and corresponding university
degrees do not guarantee jobs in these fields. Also, we will promote and create
jobs for the new profession of Digital Humanities expert.
and historical data and innovative tools that ##SMART CITIES agement of buildings, and can also improve ranging from carbon dioxide emissions to to simulate the effects of transposing Euro- The strong international perspec-
will allow for the creation of endless ave- A Smart City is a place where traditional the efficiency of emergency operations or soil sealing, landscape fragmentation and pean legislation into national and local levels.
tive for European excellence
nues of experience and exploration, in situ networks and services are made more effi- the detection of technical malfunctions. For urban heat island effects.
or remotely. This will contribute to shaping cient with the use of digital and telecommu- example, the large-scale provision of archi-
Time Machine offers a long-term perspec- A strong ally to Europe has a leading role in the digitisation
tourists’ behaviour, by attracting them to nication technologies, for the benefit of its tectural layouts and infrastructural aspects of culture. Time Machine will strengthen this
new locations or repositioning the interest inhabitants and businesses. Smart Cities are facilitates the mapping of infrastructual
tive for a transition to sustainable land counteract gender bias role at a time where this field gains momen-
management, based on our common history
for well-known and mature destinations at present mainly based on the networking needs. The inclusion of historical data makes The enlargement of available historical data tum in Asia and the USA.
and with the perspective of the next gener-
through virtual pre-visits of cultural heritage of current data from interconnected sensory it possible to track urban, land and infra- via the systematic digitisation campaigns
ation. By increasing the possibilities of in- Time Machine will increase the scientific
sites, for example. It will furthermore help to devices. The exchange of information will be structure developments such as electricity under the Time Machine initiative will result
depth analysis of highly heterogeneous data reputation of EU institutions in Digital Human-
regulate the tourist flow to “overwhelmed” fundamentally intensified by Time Machine networks, gas conduits, and drainage systems. in much more knowledge on women in
(aerial and spatial images, land database, ities and SSH, opening the way to launch or
destinations, through immersive educational by, on the one hand, enriching it with so far The analysis of architectural, urban planning, societies of the past. New knowledge will
soil quality database), Time Machine will reinforce international collaboration.
and cultural experiences at home. unconsidered data, and, on the other hand, land use, economic and social data collected also be available about many repressed
develop methods and indicators to objec-
through data collections with historical depth. over long periods can make it possible to groups and minorities in the pre-modern past. Time Machine comes at a time where cul-
Time Machine will also help to diversify tively monitor the consumption of natural,
predict the future development of specific ture occupies a central role in the UN 2030
cultural tourism by creating tailor-made data Object recognition and tracking over time agricultural or forest areas at all territorial Time Machine-driven technological im-
areas, and thereby allow for more sustainable Agenda for Sustainable Development. For
platforms for each type of tourism: cultural, will play a vital role for future city planning. scales. The increased potential of Time provements in areas such as stylometry, or
and efficient decision-making. the first time, the international development
slow, rural, cruise-based, ethical, sport Based on the advanced modelling methods Machine in digitising and indexing old data intellectual authorship recognition, will pro-
agenda refers to culture within the framework
event-driven, wellness, medical, business, of Time Machine, urban planning will enter ##LAND USE AND TERRITORIAL POLICIES (silver prints, maps, tables, legal texts), will vide us with a much more accurate picture
of Sustainable Development Goals related to
or adventure. By offering a full package (on- a new stage, as it will be possible to find Europe has the highest proportion in the also make it possible to retroactively calcu- of the female contribution to human civili-
education, sustainable cities and peaceful and
line preparation at home, experience-based examples of cities that are similar to a city’s world (80 %) of land used for settlement, late these indicators, which offers a unique sation, which, because of Time Machine’s
inclusive societies.
visit, post-visit experience with materials present state. In doing so, it will be possible production and infrastructure. Population opportunity to analyse the impact of policies scale, will fundamentally alter historical
gathered on site), the visit will become both to compare different strategic measures growth and the increase of commercial on land use over time. gender studies. A strong opportunity exists to develop
educational and experience-driven, enhancing that were undertaken in these other cities to activities for food, bioenergy and industrial synergies with UNESCO’s Culture Conven-
The Time Machine platform for land use will
tourist retention of local history and iden- substantiate communal decisions. crops contribute to an even higher demand tions on the safeguarding and promotion of
enable a shared framework to compare ter-
tity, and thus strengthening the sense and for land and more intense competition cultural and natural heritage, and the cul-
The integration of urban information will ritorial configurations across space and time,
understanding of European belonging. between municipal and industrial uses. This tural and creative industries, as well as joint
further enhance risk mitigation in smart promoting the exchange of knowledge and
excessive pressure negatively affects biodi- programmes with other UN Agencies for
cities. Architectural data is essential for experience between similar territories. It will
versity, degrades habitats and raises issues the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for
preservation, renovation and everyday man- also strengthen the science-policy interface,
Sustainable Development.
enabling land-use stakeholders in particular
22 235. THE TIME MACHINE ECOSYSTEM
The Coordination and Support and economic value from the Big Data of Other organisations that have an interest
As of May 2019, the Time Machine partner- Through its continuous interaction with
Action implementation the Past is a feasible endeavour. in the Time Machine scope and objectives
ship comprises 300 organisations from 34 potential stakeholders, the CSA will enable
and who can bring added value to the
For this reason, a growing community of countries together with the 33 CSA partners. the Consortium to create a dense Time
In recent years, the convergence between road-mapping analysis and development
academic researchers, businesses, and Machine ecosystem of scientists, innova-
ICT, AI and SSH in the context of cultural will be kept informed of work progress and These include:
professional associations working in these tors, decision makers and communities of
heritage has reached a solid degree of will be invited to participate in: • An impressive list of reputable academic
fields has started shaping ideas for research citizens that cooperate around the Big Data
maturity, where creating and drawing social institutions and research centres
topics around Time Machine in the context • Consultations organised to assess the of the Past. The impact of the CSA will be
of the Future and Emerging Technologies acceptance of proposed ideas • Leading European enterprises and inno- measured by a substantial (tenfold) increase
part of Horizon 2020 (Box 5). vative small and medium-sized enterpris- in the current number of Time Machine sup-
Key dates in the development of Time Machine • Workshops aiming to validate strategic
BOX 5
es (SMEs) in the fields of ICT, culture and porters (from 200 to 2000).
The whole idea led into the award of a directions and proposed action plans
2019 Europe invests in Time Machine creative industries
12-month Coordination and Support Action
The European Commission chose Time Machine as one • Other dissemination actions, organised
(CSA) aiming to develop concrete Research • key European museums:
of the six proposals retained for preparing large-scale to secure commitment to the Time Ma-
and Innovation agendas. This CSA runs in the Louvre, Rijksmuseum, Belvedere
research initiatives. chine objectives.
period from March 2109 to February 2020.
• 7 national libraries:
2018 Time Machine develops algorithms that outper-
form humans in transcription of Venetian handwriting How interested parties can The broader Austria, Belgium, France, Israel, Nether-
lands, Spain, Switzerland
AI methods open new way to search in ancient documents.
be involved Time Machine partnership
• 19 state archives:
2016 Manifesto “L’Europe doit construire la première Time Machine has brought together a very
During the CSA, the consortium will design Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Time Machine“, published in ‘Le Temps’, then translated broad Time Machine partnership of leading
a detailed strategy and implementation Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany,
in 9 languages European academic and research organ-
roadmap for the Time Machine initiative, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta, Norway,
A call for action to invite Europe to invest in an infrastruc- isations, cultural heritage institutions and
through internal workshops, own expert Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Slovakia,
ture for mining ‘Big Data of the Past’. private enterprises. The members of this
judgements, consultations with external experts Sweden and Switzerland
unique alliance are fully aware of the huge
2014 Increasing interest as required, and document/data analysis.
potential of digitisation and the very prom- • 18 governmental bodies
Frédéric Kaplan’s TED Talk “How to build a Time Ma-
ising new paths for science, technology and
chine” reaches more than 1 Million views.
innovation that can be opened through the
2013 Venice Time Machine starts information system that will be developed,
EPFL and University Ca’Foscari launch a project that based on the Big Data of the Past.
aims at building a multidimensional model of Venice and
its evolution covering a period of more than 1000 years.
24 25Members of the Time Machine community The Time Machine Organisation
have already established strong links
The continued cooperation beyond the dura-
through extensive joint research in EU and
tion of the CSA will be streamlined through
national projects. Furthermore, many of
the Time Machine Organisation which will be
these partners have launched together local
the institutional framework ensuring economic
Time Machine initiatives in the following
independence as well as cross-sectoral
cities – in parentheses are the historical
communication and partnerships.
periods covered (Box 6).
The Time Machine Organisation is an asso-
ciation under Austrian law, headquartered
in Vienna. "With the Time Machine
Local Time Machines:
Organisation we provide
BOX 6
Participation is open to all members of the
Antwerp (1500 –2000)
Amsterdam (1550 –2000)
Time Machine ecosystem, who, thus, have
the means to participate in:
the institutional frame-
Budapest (1680 –1990) • The governance of the Time
work ensuring economic
Dresden (1200 –2000)
Machine initiative independence as well as
Ghent-Bruges (800 –2000)
• The definition of research and cross-sectoral communi-
innovation actions
Jerusalem (2000 BCE–2000) cation and partnerships.”
• The implementation of these actions
Limburg (1775 –2000)
• The development of new initiatives in
Lower Austria (800 –2000) relation to common interests
Naples (800 –2000)
Nuremberg (1000 –2000)
Paris (1000 –2000)
Regensburg (1200 –2000)
Utrecht (40 –2000)
Venice (1000 –2000)
26 27Time
This project has received funding from the European
Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
timemachine.eu
programme under the grant agreement No 820323. @TimeMachineEU @TimeMachineEU timemachine.eu/trailerYou can also read
