Opening black boxes - 3D CT digitalization of historical cipher machines

Within the framework of the three-year project “3DCipher” – funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research – the Deutsches Museum is conducting computed tomographic scans of 60 historical cipher machines of its collection. The museum is thereby extending its experience with CT scans as part of the large-scale digitisation measures established in the previous years. First projects utilising computed tomographic scans have been carried out in the past, like the largescale scan of the WWII aircraft Messerschmitt Me 163 (www.iis.fraunhofer.de/en/profil/jb/2019/xxl-ctme-163.html). The non-destructive look inside historical objects is the primary advantage for the use of the CT technology in the Deutsches Museum. Many exhibits cannot be opened physically for conservational concerns, e.g. many of the crypto devices. The CT technology thus gives us insights into historical objects, which would not be possible otherwise without destroying the fragile devices.