Case Study: A Digital Twin for Qatar Museums

The project behind Monet's collaboration with Qatar Museums, told from what has been announced in public.

This case study sets out what Qatar Museums and Monet have announced about the digital twins made for the online collection. It covers how many objects were twinned, how they were captured and what the models are for. You also get a checklist to specify a digital twin for your own museum or venue.

A digital twin is worth what its accuracy and its use are worth. This case study covers the Qatar Museums digital twin work behind Monet's collaboration with the institution. It uses only what Qatar Museums and Monet have announced in public. Details that were never published, such as accuracy figures, are left out.

What Qatar Museums and Monet announced

On 21 May 2025, Qatar Museums launched its online collection platform. It holds over 1,000 works from Mathaf, the Museum of Islamic Art, the National Museum of Qatar, the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum and the general collections. Select objects can be viewed in 3D. The release names no technology partner.

On 25 May 2025, Monet announced its part. It produced digital twins of over 40 objects in the collection. Of these, 20 were published on the Online Digital Collection. The next day, the Qatari site Falak reported the collaboration.

Qatar Museums was founded in 2005. It describes itself as the nation's preeminent institution for art and culture.

Objects, not galleries

A digital twin is a measured, to-scale model of a real object or room. People can examine it, plan in it and come back to it. Both announcements describe objects, not galleries.

The difference matters. An object twin lets a visitor turn an artifact over on screen. A room twin lets a curator plan an exhibition in the space. Rooms are covered in what is a venue digital twin.

How the objects were captured

Monet's announcement says the capture combined video, laser and image data, taken with only a phone. Some recent phones carry a small laser depth sensor, called LiDAR, beside the camera. The data became interactive 3D models built for viewing on the web.

The method trades some accuracy for speed and reach. Monet states that the models are designed for interactive presentation rather than conservation. For preservation, it says, more specialized techniques with higher accuracy will be used.

What was not published

The announcements give no accuracy figures, file sizes, formats or capture times. They do not say which museums the twinned objects came from. This case study does not guess at any of them. Anyone who commissions a twin should ask for each one in writing, as the checklist below sets out.

A digital twin specification checklist

Use this list to specify a twin for a museum or venue.

• Capture method: Photogrammetry, laser scanning or video, and why
• Scale reference: The measured dimension that fixes scale, and who measured it
• Accuracy target: The tolerance the model must meet, and how it is checked
• Resolution: Mesh and texture resolution for each use
• File formats: Formats for the web, for AR and for the archive
• Web optimization: Target file size and load time, and what may be reduced to reach them
• Sign-off: Who approves accuracy and appearance, by role
• Permitted uses: Where the model may be shown, by whom and for how long

The first row matters most. A model made for web viewing and a model made for a conservation record are specified in different ways, as Monet's announcement itself makes clear.

What it means for exhibition and venue teams

Monet also builds venue digital twins that show a planner's own layout in the room. Curators, clients and stakeholders can then see and approve an exhibition layout in the actual space before installation. The same discipline applies as for an object. A twin needs a known scale, a stated accuracy and a named person who signs it off.

To plan your next exhibition to scale in the real room, you can start a free trial of Monet with your own venue plan.