Structure Concept
ApPEARS structure is detailed in the figure presented above.
The above figure shows how the cross-disciplinary training programme will educate young scientists with backgrounds in at least two disciplines or sectors. This is needed in order to advance the research field over the next decade and to efficiently translate findings into novel applications.
The research training program will address identified fundamental gaps in knowledge including:
- Measuring material appearance - capturing optical material properties (BSSRDF) and the corresponding visual attributes such as colour, gloss, texture and translucency.
- Printing desired appearance – goniochromatic and gloss gamut mapping, 3D halftoning, modelling material light interaction.
- Appearance workflow management – representing and communicating material appearance.
- Methodologies, tools and materials for 2.5D and 3D printing applications (e.g. 2.5D and 3D artwork reproduction and packaging, tactile maps for visually impaired).
These topics will form the basis for four research work packages, which will be complemented by a cross-disciplinary programme of scientific and transferable skills courses, networking events and cross institute and industrial secondments. The academic and industrial partners of ApPEARS will realise a cohort of well-grounded thinkers and makers with inter-disciplinary skills in engineering, material and colour sciences, computer graphics, metrology, optical modelling, psychophysics and design. Currently, researchers with the necessary inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral skills are scarce due to the decline in teaching STEM subjects across Europe.
Project research objectives and training goals will be realized using 7 work packages (WPs). In these WPs, 4 work packages (WP) related to research have been defined. These research WPs are closely followed by the training events (WP1), exploitation, dissemination and communication (WP6), and coordination and project management (WP7) work packages as below:
- WP1 : Local, network and external training
- WP2: Measurement of material appearance
- WP3: Material appearance printing
- WP4: Material appearance workflow
- WP5: Methodologies for 2.5D and 3D printing applications
- WP6: Exploitation, Dissemination and Communication
- WP7: Coordination and Project management
WP1 will support PhD education for Early Stage Researchers and will help develop a) interdisciplinary researchers who can work on 2.5D and 3D print techniques to print material appearance on different substrates, b) entrepreneurs and innovators with a PhD to be embedded in the emerging field of 3D printing, c) researchers who can combine high-level research and commerical vision for industrial implementation of material appearance acqusition and reproduction using 2.5D and 3D printing, and d) bring together knowledge exchange between complementary sectors.
WP2 focuses on a number of key measurement challenges that must be overcome to successfully reproduce material appearance.
In WP3, apart from investigating the key elements of an appearance printing pipeline, algorithms and models will be developed and implemented to realize such a pipeline.
WP4 will propose novel representation models of appearance data suitable for printing applications and also provide test implementation using ICCMax architecture for processing pixel-wise colour information and spatial processing.
WP5 will design content-creation environments for the reproduction of material appearance, and will cross-communicate with other WPs to seek new possibilities to explore and advance practical solutions by well-defined workflows and applications.
WP6 will ensure efficient dissemination of project results to the wider scientific and industrial communities as well as effective knowledge transfer among the network.
WP7 looks upon the coordination and management of ApPEARS with well-defined management structure and working procedures for successful management.
WP8 addresses the Ethical requirements and the research integrity principles of Horison2020.