“Digital documentation…” Heritage or historical preservation…” But with laser scanning and 3D technologies?
It would seem that this is catching the attention of several historical organizations at the international level (where the perceived funding is said to be more accessible). As the visuals of this admittedly remarkable technology become more public, however, interests on the national and state levels are stirring as well. Countries including Scotland, Greece, Mexico, and many others are recognizing the value of laser scanning to document precious historical sites quickly and without impact to the often fragile environment in which our collective, cultural past resides.
Clearly, we are in a movement. A documentation movement. Google is doing it with aerial modeling. Hexagon is…well we don’t know what they are doing yet, but whatever it is, it will surely be big. And local organizations are jumping into the fray – even without funding. They want to learn more and, of course, how much it will cost them.
Over the next 2 weeks, I’d like to offer an invitational dialog to flush out what is going on with this market, why people fear it, love it, are fascinated by it, and are confused by what to do with it.
Let’s begin with an image. What will people 100 years from now think of this? Will it educate them? Will they be glad we did it? Will it matter?
