Can 3D printing save history?

By Jamie Carter

Introduction and eye in the sky

360 degree photos and video are most associated with virtual reality, but 3D modelling is now being used to faithfully reconstruct – and even 3D-print – ancient monuments and artefacts. Palmyra in Syria is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, a 1,800-year-old Roman monument all but destroyed late last year by Daesh.

While the 250,000 people killed, 6.5 million displaced and 4.8 million refugees since 2011 (UN estimates) are the real tragedy of the Syrian conflict, the speedy resurrection of Palmyra’s famous Arch of Triumph using 3D photos and 3D modelling techniques is being hailed as a defiant act. The message? If they knock it down, we have the technology to rebuild it – and quickly.

Pioneering project

Reconstructed using a 3D computer model created from photographs, the Harvard University-based Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) last week displayed in Trafalgar Square, London, a life-size replica of the Arch of Triumph. The replica will arrive at the now secure Palmyra site later this year.

Not …read more

Source:: techradar.com – Computing Components