The ChemiNova consortium is pleased to highlight the participation of its partner Leibniz University Hannover (Germany) in the ISPRS Congress 2026, held in Toronto, Canada.
As one of Germany’s leading universities of technology, Leibniz University Hannover contributes expertise in photogrammetry, geoinformatics, artificial intelligence and digital technologies to the ChemiNova project, supporting the development of innovative solutions for cultural heritage documentation, monitoring and conservation.
During the congress, Mohammadreza Heidarianbaei presented the peer-reviewed paper “Semantic Segmentation of Textured Non-manifold 3D Meshes using Transformers”, co-authored with Max Mehltretter and Franz Rottensteiner.
The research introduces a novel transformer-based architecture designed to improve the semantic segmentation of textured 3D meshes. By directly combining geometric and texture information, the proposed method enables a more accurate analysis of complex three-dimensional datasets and advances the use of artificial intelligence for digital heritage applications.
A particularly significant aspect of the study is its application to cultural heritage conservation. The proposed methodology was evaluated using a dedicated cultural heritage dataset developed within the ChemiNova project, based on a high-resolution textured 3D model of the historic roof of La Nau (Valencia, Spain). The dataset includes detailed annotations of different deterioration phenomena, allowing researchers to assess the potential of AI-driven approaches for heritage condition assessment and damage detection.
The results demonstrated significant improvements compared to existing approaches, highlighting the value of combining advanced transformer architectures with detailed texture information for the analysis of non-manifold 3D meshes.
ISPRS STEP Excellence Service Award 2026
In addition to presenting the research, Mohammadreza Heidarianbaei received the ISPRS STEP Excellence Service Award 2026 during the congress.
The award recognises his work “NoMeFormer: Non-Manifold Mesh Transformer”, which was selected among the most outstanding papers presented at workshops of ISPRS Technical Commission II over the past four years. This distinction highlights the scientific excellence and innovation of the research carried out by the Leibniz University Hannover team.
Advancing Digital Innovation for Cultural Heritage
The research presented in Toronto forms part of the broader scientific activities being developed within the ChemiNova project. The paper itself acknowledges that the work was carried out in the context of ChemiNova, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme.
The ChemiNova consortium warmly congratulates Mohammadreza Heidarianbaei and the entire team at Leibniz University Hannover for this prestigious recognition and thanks them for their continued contribution to advancing digital innovation in cultural heritage conservation.
