Digital Laser Scan of Mount Rushmore
In yesterday’s blog post, I introduced the amazing digital laser scanning project that’s going on at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Actually, “amazing” is a bit of an understatement. What’s going on at the memorial is better described as truly historic.
The entire sculpture of the four famous faces is being digitally scanned by precision-guided lasers, high definition cameras and a variety of other impressive tools. The National Park Service has teamed up with the Kacyra Family Foundation and its project, CyArk, to bring a technical team from Scotland to scan Mount Rushmore.
When all is said and done (which will only be a few more days) an exact 3-D model of the memorial will have been created. The hi-def photos will be aligned with the “pointcloud” formed from millions of laser points and a realistic digital model of the mountain will exist for the first time.
The purpose of the scanning project is both preservation and education based. By creating this digital record, the NPS will be able to more closely monitor any potential future change or damage to the sculpture.
The digital model will also be used to create virtual tours of the entire mountain, including the rarely seen Hall of Records – a hidden storage area that Gutzon Borglum had blasted into the mountain on the back side of the faces.
“This project will allow us to create a ‘fly-through’ experience for people that maybe don’t have the resources or ability to physically visit the memorial,” said Amy Bracewell, Mount Rushmore Historian. “They’ll be able to take an online tour of the memorial and the surrounding area. We’ll be able to use the model for a wide variety of educational programming,” Bracewell said.
The media tour of the project yesterday helped the whole thing make more sense to me. And I’ll try to help it make more sense to you – pictures should help. The first four photos below are from several different phases of the scanning project. Images #5-8 are from preliminary laser scans conducted earlier this week.
Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing an incredible video of the 3-D laser scan results from inside the Sculptor’s Studio at Mount Rushmore – be sure to check back tomorrow or subscribe by email to the travel blog so you won’t miss it.
Until next time.
