Violin Digital Twin

April 01, 2022

A violinist has partnered with Blocktag to auction an authenticated, 3D scan model of her phyiscal violin on OpenSea https://opensea.io/collection/blocktag-violin-nft. You might be thinking: "Is there value in buying a digital twin instead of the physical violin?".

OpenSeaPage1 — *Blocktag violin NFT collection on OpenSea*

OpenSeaPage2 — *Blocktag violin NFT collection on OpenSea*

Traditionally, experts authenticate violins by checking visual characteristics like the violin's varnish, wood grain pattern etc. Blocktag wants to resonate with this tradition by using the digital twin as the physical violin's 3D fingerprint.

Certificato Di Authentica — *Violin maker describing violin's visual characteristics on it's certificate of authenticity*

Violin Authentication Evolution

For basic authentication, the original violin's tag has a unique chaotic print signature that is recorded by the Blocktag camera app as a fingerprint.

For advanced authentication, the original violin's visual properties near the tag e.g. Wood grain pattern, texture, shape etc. is recorded by the Blocktag camera app as a fingerprint.

Tag Surroundings — Basic authentiction with tag's chaotic fingerprint signature in orange box.
Advanced authentication with tag's surrounding features fingerprint in purple box

For expert authentication, the entire original violin outside and inside can be 3D scanned as a digital twin fingerprint.

Violin Inside — *Expert authentication with 3D digital twin fingerprint scan from the inside*

Augmented Reality Authentication

To authenticate if a physical violin matches with its expected 3D digital twin fingerprint, Blocktag guides users to navigate their camera around the violin with Augmentated Reality (AR).

Digital Twin Authentication AR — *Source physical violin with 3D scanned digital twin AR on top. Users must navigate their phone camera to 3D blue plane to authenticate.*

Tranform Piracy To Promotion

The digital twin's varnish looks different from the physical violin as it is encrypted by Blocktag to prevent public access to the actual fingerprint. Only the owner can access the fingerprint by verifying they own the digital twin's Non Fungible Token (NFT) in their digital wallet. This security design transforms the threat of digital twin piracy into an opportunity. Pirates are welcome to freely copy the public digital twin to promote vintage violin art!

The Purest Representation

The digital twin is the purest visual representation of the original violin. As "The Red Violin" movie shows, it is unavoidable that an antique violin is damaged over time. Once damaged, restoration with new parts does not look like the original violin. To preserve archives of the original violin, the tagged physical violin is 3D scanned.

ChunMing Chin
Cofounder, Director of Engineering
Blocktag Inc