Can seals be carved on a tablet?

Have you ever imagined that an iPad pencil can be used as a chisel to create a desired seal pattern on a tablet? “Seal Create”, a virtual seal carving application, can make it! You can create your own seal pattern, experiment with three-dimensional seal carving models, choose from a variety of carving knives, and ultimately get the most lifelike seal carving experience. Recently, this application, developed by the “Smart Seal Carving System and Platform” team at Zhejiang University, has been officially launched on the iPad in an effort to make the seal culture more accessible.

Subjected to its technical requirements and material limitations, seal carving may have become out of style in the perceptions of modern city dwellers. However, the team has successfully combined ancient calligraphy with advanced AI technology, rendering it possible for everyone to customize their own seals online.

The team has long been committed to the tenet of being “interesting, informative and valuable.” “From the very outset, we have made up our mind to establish a digital and intelligent startup team dedicated to seal carving so that we can bring the traditional art to the public more quickly,” said ZHANG Kejun, an associate professor of College of Computer Science and Technology and also the team’s instructor.

This smart carving system is jointly developed by the Alibaba-Zhejiang University Joint Research Institute of Frontier Technologies, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Design Intelligence and Digital Creativity, and the Collaborative Innovation Center of Artificial Intelligence. When users log onto the “Smart Seal Carving System and Platform” website, calligraphy and carving techniques will be abstracted into simple slider operations. They can select their favorite style and customize the slider to adjust the thickness of the strokes, the gap between characters and the margin. In this way, a satisfactory seal image will be easily and quickly completed without having to worry about the lack of calligraphy and seal skills.

The team has also developed a wireless and intelligent small seal carving machine, which allows users to obtain a real seal by simply transmitting the customized seal image. During the graduation season this June, every graduate from Zhejiang University received a customized, unique and exclusive “Qiushi seal”.

“Seal Create” won the Most Innovative Award of the Mobile Application Innovation Contest recently. Isabel Ge Mahe, Apple’s vice-president and managing director of Greater China, was very generous about her praise for this innovative gadget. “We hope that the carving culture can thrive at Zhejiang University. Meanwhile, it will go global and become a distinctive Chinese seal,” WU Wenqi, one of the team members, said.

Photo credit: the “Smart Seal Carving System and Platform” team