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Pixelated Realities digitises the Collection of Icons and Glass objects from the Odesa Museum

April 13, 2026
news, XRCulture

Pixelated Realities digitises the Collection of Icons and Glass objects from the Odesa Museum

Pixelated Realities PO is carrying out 3D digitisation of objects from the collection of the Odesa Municipal Museum Of Personal Collections Named After O. V. Bleschunov” as part of the XRculture project’s research.

The Municipal Institution “Odesa Municipal Museum Of Personal Collections Named After O. V. Bleschunov” is one of Odesa’s leading cultural institutions, regularly conducting research, securing funding for cultural projects, collaborating with European partners, and implementing digitisation initiatives since 2018.

Work is being carried out within the framework of the European research project XRculture — Research and Reuse of 3D Cultural Heritage through XR.

Research and reuse of 3D cultural heritage through XR

The project aims to explore new approaches to the digitisation of cultural heritage, develop innovative methods for working with 3D data, and design use cases for extended reality (XR) technologies in the cultural sector.
This research plays an important role in building digital archives and shaping contemporary approaches to the preservation, study, and presentation of cultural heritage in digital environments.
Thanks to innovative 3D digitisation and XR presentation technologies, Ukrainian museums will be able not only to ensure the long-term preservation of their collections, but also to make them accessible to wide audiences through virtual exhibitions, educational platforms, and scholarly publications.

Digitising the Bleschunov Museum collection

As part of the study, 3D models of 10 icons and 20 glass objects will be created.
These items were selected to test and refine scanning methods for materials with complex properties, including transparent, glossy, and combined surfaces. Such objects traditionally pose a significant challenge for 3D digitisation technologies, so the research focuses on developing more effective approaches to their digital capture.

In addition to photogrammetry and Gaussian splatting, the team is developing a new semi-automatic point-cloud cleaning method that minimises manual work and reduces post-processing time to around 20 minutes per object. For the most valuable objects, meshes are also being created, which will make it possible in the future to reproduce them via 3D printing and milling to develop inclusive exhibitions or carry out restoration processes.

Icon “Saint Nicholas ‘reversible’ with saints in the margins”, late 19th century.
Lower Danube region, Lipovan icon painting. From the collection of the Municipal Institution “Odesa Municipal Museum Of Personal Collections Named After O. V. Bleschunov”, Odesa.
The mesh or wireframe of the 3D model makes it possible to see details and the relief of the surface.
All models and point clouds are still being processed

Digitisation team

The project is produced by Fedir Boitsov.
Digitisation is carried out by Dmytro Dokunov and Andrii Tkalich.
Alik Kadum is developing the point-cloud cleaning algorithm together with Fedir, while Yuliia Frolova compiles and prepares annotations.

Historical and cultural significance

The icons and glass objects from the museum’s collection are part of Ukraine’s museum heritage, reflecting various aspects of history, art, and private collecting.

Icon “Mother of God of Okhtyrka”, 19th century, possibly late 18th century.
Ukrainian variant, patroness of the Sumy Hussar Regiment.
Painting on wood, Ukraine (Sumy region). From the collection of the Municipal Institution “Odesa Municipal Museum Of Personal Collections Named After O. V. Bleschunov”, Odesa.

Presentation in the European digital space

The created 3D models, together with their metadata, will be published by Pixelated Realities PO on the European platform Europeana, ensuring open access to digital copies of cultural heritage for researchers, educational initiatives, and the general public.
The results of the research into methods for scanning transparent and complex surfaces will be presented in subsequent publications and analytical materials of the project.
Pixelated Realities is a partner in the XRсulture consortium, which is being implemented in Ukraine under the Digital Europe Programme. The project’s beneficiary in Ukraine is the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.