Every specimen is checked before being photographed
Image: CSIRO
“This process is really exciting because it’s so fast,” says Emma Toms, the project coordinator. What would have taken 8 years to do, will be finished in just 9 months!
This snappy process is an automated system developed by Picturae, a company from the Netherlands.
At the Herbarium, a team of three people are using Picturae to digitise the collection. They take each sample out of storage, place it on the conveyor belt and take a high resolution photo. Lastly, they return it safely to its shelf home.
But where does this all start? Scientists collect specimens on field trips. But before a specimen finds its home on a shelf at the Herbarium, it is pressed, dried in a special oven and frozen to kill any insects. Herbarium staff also add a barcode so it’s easy to connect the real sample to information found online. And now there’s a digital back-up too!
Digitising this collection will also open it up to everyone. You’ll find it online at the Atlas of Living Australia.
A digital helping hand