A new digital museum, named the Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo UK), is being developed using AI to digitise approximately 70 million specimens from 100 UK collections. This project aims to create a comprehensive online resource that will be accessible to the public and researchers.
Robots and AI are being employed to scan and analyse specimens, a process that would have taken hundreds of years manually but is now projected to be completed in a decade. This accelerated digitisation will include plants, animals, fossils, and rocks, some collected centuries ago.
The initiative is expected to enhance understanding of how the UK has changed throughout Earth's history and aid in predicting future changes related to climate, food supplies, and species loss. Dr. Vincent Smith, a research leader at the Natural History Museum in London, stated it will "supercharge" research into the natural world.
The initial phase of the project, beginning in Wales and Scotland, will focus on smaller specimens such as beetles, butterflies, moths, flies, pressed flowers, and ferns. These are considered important indicators of environmental change.