Glossary of technical terms
Learn about the technologies, concepts, and organisations behind our experiments.
Artificial intelligence
Also known as AI, Artificial Intelligence refers to a digital computer's ability to perform processes that typically require human intellect, like complex reasoning, speech recognition or visual interpretation, and learning from experience. AI can also refer to the scientific field dedicated to developing and understanding these abilities in digital agents.
Augmented reality
A technology that overlays real world experience with computer generated content, often in an interactive form. While Augmented Reality (AR) typically refers to the inclusion of digital visuals in real world environments, AR experiences can also include other sensory elements, like audio or haptic experiences. One of the most famous examples of AR is Pokémon Go, a mobile phone game that superimposes Pokémon onto the world around us and invites users to interact with them.
Catalogue
An organised listing of all the items within a library's collections. Their purpose is to help library users search for and find relevant material. Catalogues used to be purely analogue but are now increasingly available and searchable online.
Code Club
Code Club is a grassroots initiative within SLV that provides space for staff to learn and engage with technology. With an inclusive and accessible approach, the club is working to increase digital literacy, demystify technology, and foster cross-departmental connections.
Computer vision
A field of research that aims to extract, analyse and understand information from a single image or sequence of images.
Creative Studio
Creative Studio is a branch of the Library's Digital Directorate responsible for developing and delivering digital experiences to the public. Mike Daly acts as head of Creative Studio, and Nick Paustian leads the development team.
Digital twin
A digital replica of a real-world item or system, often incorporating up-to-date data to maintain accuracy. At SLV LAB, the 3D models of Ned Kelly's armour act as a digital twin for the real collection items.
Finding aid
A term used in archival science referring to a document that summarises an archive's structure and contents, for the purpose of helping users find specific information within a collection. This technology dates back thousands of years, and has been in use at least since the time of the ancient Sumerians.
Folk technology
Describes how people creatively adapt and repurpose systems in unexpected ways to solve their specific needs, amounting to a form of technology. For instance, users might transform a basic spreadsheet tool like Microsoft Excel into a complex, custom solution for tracking unique workflows or managing intricate personal systems that go far beyond the software's original design.
GLAM
GLAM is an acronym for galleries, libraries, archives and museums, and refers to organisations that collect, preserve, and share cultural knowledge. GLAM organisations often share many of the same goals, values, and challenges, and can be found collaborating and sharing best practices. State Library Victoria is a GLAM institution, and SLV LAB is a GLAM lab.
GLAM Lab
GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) labs are spaces for innovation within cultural heritage institutions, where staff explore how advanced technologies can benefit audiences, collections, and access. GLAM labs investigate and create digital innovation from a place of public interest and custodial responsibility, often viewing their work as an extension of their trusted information-sharing roles. SLV LAB is a GLAM Lab.
Gaussian splatting
A 3D scene representation and rendering technique that relies on a digital 3D cloud of millions of tiny, translucent ellipsoids (aka Gaussians) to create photorealistic 3D models and scenes. The resulting models can be viewed from many angles and at higher frame rates than other photogrammetry techniques.
Generative adversarial network
A machine learning framework where two deep neural networks, a generator and a discriminator, are pitted against each other to eventually train the generator network to create highly realistic synthetic data. Both models are continuously updated, with the generator attempting to mimic a real-world dataset, and the discriminator judging whether this incoming data is real (from the training dataset) or fake (generated by the other neural network). Once the generator network can consistently fool the discriminator, the generator neural network can be used to create highly realistic synthetic data in the form of images, sounds, text, or whatever other form of data it was trained on.
Hackathon
A hackathon is an event where teams work together intensively over a short period to develop creative solutions or prototype new ideas around a common goal.
Hugging Face
Hugging Face is an online community-based platform for sharing high quality machine learning models and datasets. The site specialises in natural language processing models, and largely operates on an open-source basis.
International Image Interoperability Framework
International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) is both a set of open standards for delivering images and audio/visual files on the web, and an international community that develops and uses the organisation's APIs. It is supported by many leading cultural institutions that rely on IIIF to share the full depth of their collections. IIIF is a critical technology at State Library Victoria, and many other GLAM institutions. It enables modern web browsers to display images and audio/visual files with full detail, structure and meta data (think captions, translations, and annotations), supporting features like deep zoom into highly detailed images.
K-means clustering algorithm
An algorithm used to reduce a set of numbers to a group of clusters. When applied to an image, it can create a summary of the colours that make up that image i.e. a colour palette. This technique was used in the ManIIIFestor browser extension project to create a relevant background gradient for every copyright-free image.
Large language model
Large language models (LLMs) are machine learning models capable of recognising and generating human language. These models are trained on vast datasets of high-quality human textual communication, often scraped from the web. LLMs rely on a form of machine learning called deep learning, which analyses the probability of various letters, words and sentences appearing together across these enormous datasets to eventually understand their function and relationships. To date, ChatGPT is perhaps the most famous example of a LLM.
LiDAR
LiDAR, an acronym for Light Detection and Ranging, is a technique for creating depth maps of objects and environments. LiDAR works by reflecting light from a laser off the target object and measuring the amount of time before the light returns to the receiver. These return times can then be processed and compiled into an overall map of the target object or environment. The technique can be used to create distance maps of landscapes or combined with 3D scanning to create digital models of 3D objects. At SLV LAB, LiDAR was used in the Mouthful of Dust projects to replicate the exact scale of Ned Kelly's armour for the digital versions.
Machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a subfield of artificial intelligence working towards developing computers' ability to learn and generalise in the way human beings can, and to perform complex tasks without explicit guidance. Machine learning can take the form of supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, or reinforcement learning, and ultimately hopes to develop computer programs that can improve their own performance.
Mixed reality
Blending real-world environments with digitally generated ones, allowing people to experience both the physical and computer-generated at the same time. Mixed reality worlds are often interactive and designed to enhance real-world environments. Mixed reality covers a wide spectrum from nearly 100% virtual worlds to nearly all physical ones.
Model
A simulation or representation of a real-world system, which can be used to imitate or better understand real-world dynamics. A large language model (LLM), for example, is a representation of natural human language that can be used to understand or generate realistic human-to-human communication.
Named entity recognition
A task within natural language processing (NLP) to identify and classify important information from text. The information that is identified and classified is referred to as an entity. Examples of entity categories include people, location, dates and organisations.
Natural language processing
The application of computational techniques to the analysis and reproduction of natural language. Encompassing a broad range of different specific fields of research, but perhaps most significantly has contributed to modern "AI chat" applications and interfaces. Frequently shortened to NLP.
Open source
A computer program where the both the source code and the right to use, examine, or modify that code is freely available to all. Can also refer to the community of developers who support this practice, and the underlying software development approach that seeks to support decentralised and collaborative programming.
Optical character recognition
A technology that converts images of text into machine-readable and editable text. It is a foundational technology in the digitisation of archive and historic materials. it is frequently abbreviated to OCR.
Photogrammetry
The art, science, and technology of accurately describing physical objects and the environment through the use of photographs, especially aerial photographs. More specifically, it can refer to the process of creating accurate 3D models from images of real-world objects, such as Ned Kelly's armour in the Mouthful of Dust project.
Public Domain Day
Celebrated on 1 January each year, Public Domain Day highlights works that have just entered the public domain, and can now be used and referenced without charge or permission. Works enter the public domain when their copyright expires according to each country's copyright laws. Famously, the Steamboat Willie version of Disney's Mickey Mouse finally entered the Public Domain in 2024, joining other culturally notable works, like the writings of William Shakespeare and the musical compositions of Mozart.
Realia
Realia is a library term for three-dimensional objects like textiles, tools, and coins that fall outside the typical library classification system. Ned Kelly's armour is the best-known piece of realia at State Library Victoria, but there are many other examples within the Library's heritage collections, preserved for their association with notable people and events in Victorian history.
Serverless
A type of software design that uses cloud-based servers for provisioning, managing and scaling the digital architecture necessary to run programs, rather than the developer creating and controlling all aspects of the digital architecture.
Trove
An online portal for accessing digitised material from cultural, community and research institutions across Australia.
Unreal Engine
A 3D computer graphics game engine created by Epic Games. This software framework is commonly used to generate high-quality computer graphics in both the gaming and the film and television industries. The engine is free to use for any creation with under US $1 million in revenue, and its source code is available to all on GitHub. At SLV LAB, Unreal Engine was used by Matt Hermans to create an ultra-high resolution model of Ned Kelly's armour for the Mouthful of Dust project.
Virtual reality
The use of computer modelling technology to create and allow experiential immersion in a digitally constructed 3D world. Virtual Reality (VR) often involves the use of stereoscopic headsets to simulate the visual environment, and can use gloves, controllers, or bodysuits to create other sensory experiences of the virtual environment. VR is most often used for entertainment, skills-training and education.
Volumetric capture
A technique that records a three-dimensional space, like a performance or interior, using multiple synchronised cameras and then reconstructs it into a 3D model or "hologram" that can be viewed from any angle. Volumetrically captured works can be viewed in virtual or mixed reality environments, or on 2D or 3D screens.