The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been mapped in 3D by the Commonwealth, Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia.
The Australian agency has come up with a breakthrough discovery, a handheld 3D mapping system, called the Zebedee that scans details of the interior of the structure and maps the whole within a short span of time.
Researchers have found it difficult to understand the finer interior details of the Leaning Tower with its immensely complicated architecture but the new Zedbee nailed down the finer details of the structure within 20 minutes.
"Within 20 minutes, we were able to use Zebedee to complete an entire scan of the building's interior," said Dr. Jonathan Roberts, the research program leader at Cisro, reports CNet. "This allowed us to create a uniquely comprehensive and accurate 3D map of the tower's structure and composition, including small details in the stairs and stonework."
Zebedee is primarily based on the Lidar laser that captures millions of data points to track down every minute details of the structure. Further, the device converts the data collected in to 3D.
Detailing historical sites is quite a laborious task, according to the head of the Computer Informatics department. But the new mapping system makes the job a lot easier. "This technology is ideal for cultural heritage mapping, which is usually very time-consuming and labor-intensive," said Roberts to Gizmodo. "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."
The 3D maps can help restore old historical buildings, which are prone to natural disasters and can also come in handy for people who are unable to visit these places physically, added Roberts.
