A.I. ‘DE-OLDIFYING’ THE PAST
TRANSFORMED 100 YEAR OLD IMAGES NOW AVAILABLE IN COLOUR
PHOTOGRAPHS more than 100 years old of north Cork scenes have been colorised as part of a project involving artificial intelligence computer programmes.
The research project at the National University of Ireland in Galway has led to some of the most significant archives of old photographs from the National Library being transformed from their black and white originals to full colour.
John Breslin, who’s a professor in the Engineering Department of NUIG, is heading up the project which is aimed at developing artificial intelligence capacity.
The black and white photographs come from archives such as The Lawrence Collection and the Irish Folklore Collection.
According to Dr. Breslin, the programme which they’re using, De-oldify, remembers textures it has seen in other photographs and applies the same colour.
“It’s using the newest technology to give a new vitality to pictures which are a century old – or, in some cases, older.
“When I examined the image of the huntsman for instance I was able to spot that the photograph held in the National Library was actually switched back to front so, in fact, the colour version which the programme was able to create is the truer version.”
Among the images which have been enhanced in the process are old pictures of Mallow’s Davis Street, an image of a huntsman at Longfield House, an image of Mallow Railway Station, shortly after Independence and, also, an image of a class from Mallow De La Salle at an event in Waterford in 1923.