+ FUTURE RUINS

LiDaR scanning and virtual heritage

LiDar scanning
A typical LiDaR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor emits pulsed light waves from a laser into the environment. These pulses bounce off surrounding objects and return to the sensor. The sensor uses the time it took for each pulse to return to the sensor to calculate the distance it traveled. A point can then be plotted in space. Many points make a point cloud.

Point Cloud
A point cloud is a collection of points of data plotted in 3D space, using a 3D laser scanner. If you're scanning a building, for example, each virtual point would represent a real point on the wall, window, stairway, metalwork, or any surface the laser beam meets.

A scanner automatically combines the vertical and horizontal angles created by a laser beam to calculate an X, Y, and Z coordinate position. Each point produces a set of 3D coordinate measurements which often includes its color value stored in RGB and intensity.

Virtual Heritage
This manner of scanning and recording space means that 3d prints can be generated from the resulting data. One such example is the Palmyra arch in Syria, destroyed during the war and 3d printed in Marble at two-thirds scale. Like the ship of theseus, artefacts and sites can be replaced and stand in for the original. In the future, this will be the only way some historic sites canbe viewed.

Future Ruins
The Lascaux prehistoric caves in France are an example of how original heritage sites can no longer be accessed by humans (carbon di-oxide from visitors was triggering a chemical reaction in the air which began to erode and damage the surface of the prehistoric cave paintings). 3d Prints have been made of sections of the caves, hand painted and exhibited next to the original in what is known as Lascaux II.

There are further versions Lascaux III and Lascaux IV which are exhibited elswhere. Lascaux III is a travelling exhibition which tours the globe, Lascaux IV is an international Centre for cave art designed by Snohetta.

Quantum Venice.
Venice now charges viewers to visit as it too realises the city is not impermeable to flooding, damage by over toursim, climate change and other factors. Facsimiles of Venice exist in numerous places around the world from Las Vegas to Qatar.

The boundary between heritage and theme parks is blurring, where sensation and imersion in an experience is priorotised over veracity, truth and authenticity. Would you pay to go to a virtual version of Venice or to see copies of historic caves?

+ Scan of the Roman ruins at Vaison La Romaine in Provence (by the author 2019)




+ Scan of the Roman ruins at Vaison La Romaine in Provence (by the author 2019)



+ Scan of the Roman ruins at Vaison La Romaine in Provence (by the author 2019)

+ Scan of the Roman ruins at Vaison La Romaine in Provence (by the author 2019)

+ Scan of the Roman ruins at Vaison La Romaine in Provence (by the author 2019)





+ Scan of the Roman ruins at Vaison La Romaine in Provence (by the author 2019)