The mobile photogrammetry unit Archa III, intended for the digital documentation of monuments in Ukraine, was included in the American magazine TIME's Best Inventions 2026 selection. The news was reported on 15 October 2026 by iDNES.cz and Novinky.cz.[1][2]
The unit
The unit consists of a specially adapted Volkswagen Crafter van with two photogrammetry robots with several cameras that create three-dimensional models of historical objects and monuments. The first robot works inside the van; the second can be transported to museums and other sites from which valuable objects cannot be removed because of their uniqueness, the risk of damage or for security reasons.[1][2]
According to Novinky, the National Museum provided the technological solution, the digitisation methodology and the training of Ukrainian experts. The data obtained are stored in a secured cloud repository and can serve research and the restoration of any destroyed monuments.[2] The director of the Karel Komárek Family Foundation, Luboš Veselý, said the foundation provided 18 million crowns for the development.[1][2]
Deployment
According to Maksym Ostapenko, director of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, the unit has already worked in the Ancient Chernihiv National Architectural and Historical Reserve. It is to be moved to the Lviv National Art Gallery named after Borys Voznytskyi in the near future. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra reserve obtained the vehicle through a free-of-charge transfer of ownership.[1]
Follow-up projects
The foundation is preparing, together with the National Library of the Czech Republic, the Archa II project, which is to digitise rare books and manuscripts in Ukraine. Besides the foundation, small donors and the company MND contribute to the financing. The mobile conservation workstation Archa I has treated and stabilised 36,166 pages in 2,308 historical documents since January 2025.[1]
The magazine's selection
According to Novinky, TIME included three hundred innovations in the 2026 edition and a further hundred projects received a special mention.[2] iDNES.cz reports that the magazine took originality, effectiveness, innovativeness and social impact into account in its evaluation.[1] Veselý described the inclusion as confirmation of the project's worldwide importance.[1]
Chronology
- — The Archa III project, a mobile photogrammetry unit funded by the Karel Komárek Family Foundation for the digital documentation of monuments in Ukraine, was included in TIME's Best Inventions of 2026. iDNES.cz Novinky.cz
Sources
- iDNES.cz — 15 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 15 October 2026