The Mobile Lab in Art, Conservation & Archaeology

Portable and flexible approaches to analysis of the archaeological record

Mobile Analytical Solutions for Art Conservation and Archaeometry

Art conservation or archaeology measurement needs come in all shapes and sizes. The focus of your project may be a painting that can't easily be removed from a high-profile gallery, or maybe the painting is on the ceiling of villa or cathedral? Not all objects of study fit easily into the palm of your hand, and may require scaffolding to reach the areas of interest. Or maybe the location where analysis needs to take place is the remote field site of your next archaeology dig? When you need to take the laboratory to the target of your project, Bruker's mobile and portable instrumentation has you covered.

Bruker provides a range of mobile and fully portable non-invasive analytical solutions to take the lab to the object. Operating as handheld or lightweight tripod mounted instruments, of a regular power source or battery, no location is too remote for XRF and vibrational spectroscopy analysis.

Check out our range of ultra-portable instruments below.

Product Focus

TRACER Handheld-XRF

Bruker TRACER 5 family of handheld XRF spectrometers provide qualitative and semi-quantitative elemental analysis, that can be extended to fully quantitative where applications and materials allow. Our most portable elemental analyzer, the TRACER comes with hardware and software design features tailored for the cultural heritage market. Capable of running connected to power, or running completely untethered powered by a battery, the instrument can give you the compositional characterization capabilities you need for any measurement environment.

ELIO Mobile XRF

The ELIO mobile XRF represents the most portable XRF unit on the market with a mapping capability. With a spot size of 1 micron, and the ability to map areas up to 10 x 10 cm using a light and compact X-Y stage, the unit's tripod-mounted format allows measurements anywhere, anytime - on the tops of sculptures to the walls and ceilings of painted structures. The instrument collects point and mapping data, with location information recorded using an onboard camera. Spectra and mapping data can be viewed and interpreted in real time with the ELIO software, or interrogated in more detail with offline solutions. 

BRAVO Portable Raman 

Bruker’s handheld Raman BRAVO analyzer determines molecular content of inorganic and organic compounds. Spectral databases allow identification of unknown materials including the most common pigments, fillers, binders and waxes available. Analysis of complex materials is aided by proprietary technology that mitigates fluorescence. Utilizing OPUS Touch for the latest in easy-to-use software, the BRAVO fulfills demands of post data evaluation with advanced spectroscopy software, and allows scientists to build, validate and manage spectral libraries.  Capable of running from a battery, this portable instrument can run in almost any environment. 

ALPHA II Portable FT-IR

Bruker’s portable FT-IR ALPHA II analyzer identifies molecular structures and components to help determine optimum cleaning methods and solvents. It incorporates spectral databases of available varnishes, fibers and solvents to help guide restoration treatments. The ALPHA II includes a dedicated art object analysis module with an integrated video camera to pinpoint the desired measurement area. Like the BRAVO, the ALPHA II allows work at remote field sites with objects and painted surfaces, or with objects and paintings that cannot easily be moved from galleries or other exhibition locations.