Dust Simulator

Visualise how dust accumulation will change the appearance of a 3D object. Dust becomes theoretically visible when the color change is ΔE > 1.5. However, at this level, visibility needs excellent lighting and a clear contrast with a clean area (for example, a smudge).

Research shows that most observers find a surface visibly dusty above 5% area coverage. The ongoing research of Xilan Wu at UCL explores whether this perceptual threshold depends on texture, material and context of exhibition.

This calcualtor is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0). You can cite it as [Grau-Bové, Josep. (2026). "Dust Simulator". UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage.]