This page defines the classes and associated properties that are part of the EDM profile for 3D resources. In EDM, 3D resources representing a cultural object are modelled as instances of the edm:WebResource class, like many other digital representations.

Note: Some of the properties already covered in the basic EDM Definitions (edm:isShownBy, edm:isShownAt, edm:hasView) are excluded from this section.

Table of contents:

Overview

The following diagram shows an overview of the classes and properties used for the particular requirements of 3D content. Additional properties defined in the core EDM may also be used to supply further details about the 3D resources.

EDM for 3D resources (3)-20260327-171710.png

Overview of classes and properties for the EDM profile for 3D resources

Classes and Properties

Class edm:WebResource

URI	http://www.europeana.eu/schemas/edm/WebResource
Label	Web Resource
Usage note	In the 3D profile, `edm:WebResource` is used to represent 3D models, views of 3D models, and paradata.
See also	The general use of this class is specified in the main EDM Definitions

Property: dc:language

URI	http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/language
Label	language
Usage note	Used in `edm:WebResource` to indicate the language of contents within the model, such as texts or soundtracks.
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: unbounded)
See also	The general use of this property is specified in the main EDM Definitions
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <dc:language>es</dc:language> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: dc:title

URI	http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/title
Label	title
Usage note	Used in `edm:WebResource` to indicate a title for the model. It is recommended that when a resource offers multiple (two or more) 3D models, each model should be assigned a unique `dc:title` for unambiguous identification.
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: unbounded)
See also	The general use of this property is specified in the main EDM Definitions
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model_high"> ... <dc:title>3D model in higher geometric detail</dc:title> ... </edm:WebResource> <edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model_low"> ... <dc:title>3D model in lower geometric detail</dc:title> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: dc:type

URI	http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/type
Label	type
Usage note	Used in `edm:WebResource` to indicate the type of the 3D model. The value should be a reference taken from the “type of 3D model” vocabulary.
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: *)
See also	The general use of this property is specified in the main EDM Definitions
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <dc:type rdf:resource="http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/3DMesh"/> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: dcterms:conformsTo

URI	http://purl.org/dc/terms/conformsTo
Label	conforms to
Usage note	Used in instances of `edm:WebResource` that represent paradata resources, to indicate the standard with which the paradata complies (e.g., CIDOC CRMdig, CARARE 2.0). If the paradata does not comply with any standard, this property MUST NOT be used.
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: unbounded)
See also	This property is also used in the IIIF to EDM profile.
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="http://data_partner.org/the_paradata"> <dcterms:conformsTo>CRMdig</dcterms:conformsTo> </edm:WebResource>`

Property: dcterms:isFormatOf

URI	http://purl.org/dc/terms/isFormatOf
Label	is format of
Usage note	Relates a digital representation to a pre-existing one that is substantially similar in terms of represented features but comes in a different format. Especially, this property can be used to link an `edm:WebResource` representing a view of a 3D model to another `edm:WebResource` representing the original 3D model, or to associate a lower-quality 3D model to a higher-quality one that it was generated from.
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: unbounded)
See also	The general use of this property is specified in the main EDM Definitions
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model_view"> ... <dcterms:isFormatOf rdf:resource="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model_view"/> ... </edm:WebResource> <edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: dcterms:temporal

URI	http://purl.org/dc/terms/temporal
Label	temporal
Usage note	Temporal characteristics of the resource. i.e. what the resource is about or depicts in terms of time (e.g. a period, date or date range). Note that this refers to the time period the model represents (its subject matter), not the time at which the model was created.
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: unbounded)
See also	The general use of this property is specified in the main EDM Definitions
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <dcterms:temporal>1847-1890</dcterms:temporal> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: edm:gaussianCount

URI	http://www.europeana.eu/schemas/edm/gaussianCount
Label	gaussian count
Definition	The total number of individual Gaussian primitives used in a 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) model to represent a scene.
Domain	`edm:WebResource`
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: 1) The value must be a non-negative integer. This property should only be used in instances of `edm:WebResource` that represent a 3D model of the type 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS).
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <dc:type rdf:resource="http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/3DGaussianSplatting"/> <edm:gaussianCount>1000000</edm:gaussianCount> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: edm:intendedUsage

URI	http://www.europeana.eu/schemas/edm/intendedUsage
Label	intended usage
Definition	Indicates the intended purpose or use context for which a digital representation (such as a 3D model) has been prepared or is primarily suitable. This may include technical, functional, or communicative objectives.
Domain	`edm:WebResource`
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: unbounded) The value should be a reference taken from the ”intended usage” vocabulary.
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <edm:intendedUsage rdf:resource="http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Knowledge"/> <edm:intendedUsage rdf:resource="http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Education"/> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: edm:pointCount

URI	http://www.europeana.eu/schemas/edm/pointCount
Label	point count
Definition	The number of points in the model.
Domain	`edm:WebResource`
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: 1) The value must be a non-negative integer. This property should only be used in instances of `edm:WebResource`that represent a 3D point cloud model.
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <dc:type rdf:resource="http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/3DPointCloud"/> <edm:pointCount>3000</edm:pointCount> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: edm:polygonCount

URI	http://www.europeana.eu/schemas/edm/polygonCount
Label	polygon count
Definition	The number of polygons in the model
Domain	`edm:WebResource`
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: 1) The value must be a non-negative integer. This property should only be used in instances of `edm:WebResource` that represent the following types of 3D models: 3D mesh model, parametric model, and building information model (BIM).
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <dc:type rdf:resource="http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/3DMesh"/> <edm:polygonCount>143104084</edm:polygonCount> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: edm:type

URI	http://www.europeana.eu/schemas/edm/type
Label	EDM type
Usage note	When an instance of a `edm:WebResource` represents a 3D model or a view of a 3D model, `edm:type` must be used with the value `3D`
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: 1)
See also	The general use of this property is specified in the main EDM Definitions
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <edm:type>3D</edm:type> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: edm:vertexCount

URI	http://www.europeana.eu/schemas/edm/vertexCount
Label	vertex count
Definition	The number of vertices in the model
Domain	`edm:WebResource`
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: 1) The value must be a non-negative integer. This property should only be used in instances of `edm:WebResource` that represent the following types of 3D models: 3D mesh model, parametric model, and building information model (BIM).
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <dc:type rdf:resource="http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/3DMesh"/> <edm:vertexCount>12345</edm:vertexCount> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Property: rdfs:seeAlso

URI	http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#seeAlso
Label	see also
Usage note	Relates a resource to another resource that may provides additional information about the subject resource. In EDM 3D context, this property is used to link to a full version of paradata published externally using a domain standard (or a more specific format). The referenced paradata resource must be another `edm:WebResource` in the record, which must to have a `dcterms:conformsTo` property indicating the format of the paradata.
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: unbounded)
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <rdfs:seeAlso rdf:resource="http://data_partner.org/the_paradata"/> </edm:WebResource> <edm:WebResource rdf:about="http://data_partner.org/the_paradata"> <dcterms:conformsTo>CRMdig</dcterms:conformsTo> </edm:WebResource>`

Property: schema:digitalSourceType

URI	`https://schema.org/digitalSourceType`
Label	digital source type
Usage note	Indicates how the model has been produced in its relation to physical reality. When different 3D representations are made available for an object, schema:digitalSourceType should be indicated on all edm:WebResource instances. This includes the case of versions for online presentation and versions for download that are linked via dcterms:isFormatOf.
Domain	`edm:WebResource`
Obligation & Occurrence	Optional (Minimum: 0, Maximum: 1) The value should be a reference taken from the ”relation to the physical reality” vocabulary. This property should only be used in instances of edm:WebResource that represent 3D models.
Example	`<edm:WebResource rdf:about="https://data_partner.org/my_3D_model"> ... <schema:digitalSourceType rdf:resource="https://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/digitalCapture"/> ... </edm:WebResource>`

Controlled terms and vocabularies

Controlled vocabulary: Intended usage

Term	Value of reference

Term	Value of reference
Knowledge that can be further elaborated as Research Education	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Knowledge` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Research` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Education`
Infotainment that can be further elaborated as: Tourism Gaming Exhibition	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Infotainment` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Tourism` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Gaming` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Exhibition`
Creativity that can be further elaborated as: Design Art	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Creativity` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Design` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Art`
Curation that can be further elaborated as: Maintenance Restoration Documentation	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Curation` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Maintenance` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Restoration` `http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/usageArea/Documentation`

Controlled vocabulary: Relation to the physical reality

Term	Value of reference

Term	Value of reference
Reality captured	`https://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/digitalCapture`
3D reconstruction	`https://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/dataDrivenMedia`
Born digital media	`https://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/digitalCreation`

Controlled vocabulary: Type of 3D model

Term	Value of reference

Term	Value of reference
3D Gaussian Splatting	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/3DGaussianSplatting`
3D Mesh Model	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/3DMesh`
3D Point Cloud Model	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/3DPointCloud`
Building Information Model (BIM)	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/BIM`
Parametric Model	`http://data.europeana.eu/vocabulary/modelType/parametricModel`

3D content in EDM (definitions)