SILKNOW is a research project dedicated to enhancing the understanding, preservation, and promotion of European silk heritage from the 15th to the 19th century. By integrating next-generation computing research, SILKNOW caters to diverse users such as museums, education, tourism, and creative industries, safeguarding both the tangible and intangible aspects associated with silk. The project leverages existing catalog records to create a "Virtual Loom" that digitally models weaving techniques through automatic visual recognition and advanced spatio-temporal visualization.

It also offers multilingual and semantically enriched access to digital data. SILKNOW's collaborative multidisciplinary team, ranging from ICT to art history, works with European museums and collections to provide digital information on historical silk textiles. The project aims to counteract the endangered state of silk textiles and preserve traditional weaving techniques while showcasing the splendor of silk globally.

SILKNOW's goals include semantically relating digitized silk heritage, building a "Virtual Loom," and improving understanding through visual tools and a multilingual thesaurus. Ultimately, SILKNOW aspires to facilitate worldwide access to European heritage, contribute to better data curation strategies, and foster innovative tourism services and educational tools. This project is supported by funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme