AIlantern: an AI-assisted workflow for designing and crafting intangible cultural heritage lantern

Lanterns, serving as prototypes for modern lighting fixtures, are significant carriers of cultural heritage. The Needled Boneless Lantern, a national intangible cultural heritage of China, exemplifies craftsmanship with its intricate ‘needled’ patterns and boneless structure. Its complex pattern design and boneless architecture require advanced technical skills, posing challenges for preservation and inheritance. To address these challenges, this study proposes an AI-assisted design workflow to facilitate the digital innovation of Boneless Lanterns. The workflow initially analyzes the pattern composition and design principles to establish the groundwork for model development utilising Diffusion Model technology. Subsequently, through optimisation of datasets and prompts, a tool named AIlantern is developed to generate lantern renderings, planar diagrams, and customised lantern designs. Besides, a user-friendly interface is created to streamline the process from design conception to final crafting. Furthermore, an evaluation with the participation of 4 lantern experts and 138 users was carried out to assess the perceived cultural value of the workflow. Results demonstrate AIlantern effectively supports the digital design and fabrication of Boneless Lanterns, aiding the modernisation of traditional craft.