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for handling in a fully automated storage system, called a
piqlVault
. The process is connected to
a web-based system for data ingest and retrieval [2].
The piqlFilm is a new type of photosensitive film. It consists of a base material made of
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a gelatine emulsion containing photo-active chemicals
such as silver halide crystals as coating. This unique coating will increase the data density on
the film, while preserving its longevity, making it possible to replace e.g. five hundred boxes of
paper with a single reel of piqlFilm.
The piqlBox is made of polypropylene (PP). The materials used were selected because they do
no harm to the piqlFilm or its longevity in any way, while at the same time guaranteeing over
500 years longevity for the piqlBox itself.
The piqlBin is a component of the piqlVault, which uses the automated AutoStore® system as
its storage system. The AutoStore® system is a unique Automated Storage and Retrieval
System (AS/RS), operated by multiple robots picking up the piqlBins from a specially designed
grid and transporting them to an operator port for retrieval by a human operator. The qualities
and features of the modified AutoStore® system used in the Piql Preservation Services and the
specific storage conditions under which the piqlFilm and –Box will be stored will be elaborated
upon in chapters 3 and 5.4 of this report.
In order to gain a proper appreciation for how the Piql Preservation Services works, it is useful
to go through the service journey or the service workflow step by step to understand how
analogue data ends up on a piqlFilm in a secured storage facility [3, 4]. This journey is depicted
in figure 2.1. First, though, it is necessary to understand Piql AS’s vision for the application of
the Piql Preservation Services. The system is delivered as a service to the market through
selected Piql partners. These partners shall function as hubs of activity across the globe, where
one such partner is responsible for delivering the service to multiple end users, i.e. data owners
in need of archival and preservation services across sectors and industries. Piql AS’ vision for
the application is, in other words, both global and universal.
The service journey starts when born digital data or digitised data is sent to a Piql partner by a
data owner. When the data is received, integrity checks are performed to make sure that, firstly,
none of the information was altered during the reception of the data, and, secondly, that no
viruses or other malware are transferred into the Piql system. The original data is then ingested
into the computer system where a data preparation process is automatically started. This process
serves two main purposes: to collect and store relevant metadata to enable future access to the
data; and to encode the data and metadata into the Piql system storage format, comprising a
single file.
Here the data owner has a choice between different ways to preserve the data: a digital, visual or
hybrid preservation of the data. The digital option encodes all the data into binary form, which
is not understandable to the human eye. The visual option maintains readability, where the data
is printed as text or pictures. Lastly, the hybrid option is a cross between the two former, where
some of the data is encoded into binary form and some is printed as text or pictures. The