Historical Laser Scanning: Using Science to Preserve History

Despite its dilapidation, the Parthenon remains one of Greece's top tourist attractions, drawing millions of people each year to see one of the greatest culture's greatest landmarks. But imagine if the Parthenon were perfectly preserved. Sound impossible? Thousands of years ago, it certainly was. But today, a modern heritage structure like the Parthenon could be preserved in its original state indefinitely, thanks to 3D laser scanning, a technology introduced in the late 1990's that uses lasers and special recording devices to collect the surface data of objects large and small.

As one might expect, scanners were initially adopted by industries whose practices depend heavily on the collection of surface data, such as the engineering, construction, and manufacturing industries. But, in the last decade, scanning has been implemented by organizations that don't feature an obvious need for it, such as historical preservation societies. Yet, just as scanners allow manufactures to correct product flaws by comparing a product's CAD model data against its post-manufacturing data, they also help preservationists to preserve heritage objects by preserving the objects' surface data, which can be used to maintain and restore them. Read more at 3d laser scanning company.

The Applications of Historical Laser Scanning
Historical laser scanning is best known for its efforts at preserving sculpture, the most notable of which was the May 2010 scan of the Mount Rushmore monument, and the structures and terrains in memorial park that sits below. Using triangulation scanners, which cast patterned light across an object's surface and use a camera to measure the deviations in the pattern caused the object's surface quality; a scan crew scanned the entire monument, conducting scans from at multiple capture points (around 200 to be exact) to record the monument's full data set over a period of two weeks.

In addition to sculpture, other notable endeavors include the scan of historical structures, such a Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, a neoclassical style estate located in Charlottesville, Virginia. With structures, the focus is usually to provide data for maintenance, as opposed to large repairs. As with laser scans used to maintain non-historical buildings, some common maintenance targets for Monticello would be its roof, facade, and perhaps its surrounding landscape, as time-of-flight scanners can easily gather the data of expansive terrains.

Scanners can be used to preserve anything whose physical data provides the key to its maintenance and restoration (the canvas of a painting, for example, would be exempt). But they can also be used to produce models of heritage subjects that range from trinkets to fine statuettes, with the Eiffel Tower and Michelangelo's David being common examples. Many preservation societies outsource scans due to the high cost of scan equipment, while others require scans frequently enough to make buying their own equipment the economical choice.