3D Mapping a ‘Pisa’ Cake by Australian Scientists
FollowAustralian researchers have created the first ever interior 3D map of Italy’s iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa by using a breakthrough mobile laser mapping system.
Developed by the CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, the Zebedee technology is a handheld 3D mapping system incorporating a laser scanner that sways on a spring to capture millions of detailed measurements of a site as fast as an operator can walk through it. Specialised software then converts the system’s laser data into a detailed 3D map.
While the tower’s cramped stairs and complex architecture have prevented previous mapping technologies from capturing its interior, Zebedee has enabled the researchers to finally create the first comprehensive 3D map of the entire building.
“This technology is ideal for cultural heritage mapping, which is usually very time consuming and labour intensive. It can often take a whole research team a number of days or weeks to map a site with the accuracy and detail of what we can produce in a few hours,