Preserving the Washington Monument with 3D Scanning

 

Direct Dimensions is a Baltimore company and we feel strongly about contributing to our city and community. There is no shortage of important historic sites around the Baltimore area and, when able, we help preservation efforts by documenting them. So when renovations began on the Washington Monument in the Mount Vernon neighborhood we jumped at the chance to digitally document the first national monument in honor of George Washington.

 

Our crew ascended almost 200 feet of scaffolding to get to the top of the  monument at dawn and begin 3D scanning the sculpture of George Washington. Two different scanning technologies were employed , the Faro Focus and a handheld Artec EVA scanner.

The resulting data will be kept for the City of Baltimore. It is an accurate record of the monumental sculpture as it exists in 2014 and will allow for preservation, recreation, or replication should it ever be needed.

3D Fashion Adventure

Photographed by Beau Sam

You often read about fashion applications for 3D printing: a recent Miss America contestant wore 3D printed shoes, Dita Von Teese wore a 3D printed dress, and 3D printed Angel Wings featured heavily in a Victoria's Secret fashion show last year. There are other applications that are tantalizingly close to showing up in your nearest mall but don't necessarily receive as much press; these applications tend to revolve around the use of 3D scanners and garment personalization.

Photographed by Beau Sam

When Vogue.com launched it's new website this month they decided to do a piece that highlighted the future of 3D scanning and printing in fashion. Rather than just showing the usual 3D printed accessories they came up with an incredible photo shoot featuring dozens of 3D prints of supermodel Karlie Kloss.

But before you can have a 3D print, you have to have a 3D file. So Vogue contacted Direct Dimensions to scan Ms. Kloss with our 360 body scanner. After scanning the model in over a dozen ensembles, we modeled the data into files suitable for 3D printing. Those prints were then sent all over the world and photographed.

Visit Vogue.com to see the photographs and read the article:

Envisioning the Future of 3-D Fashion: Welcome to the Virtual Dressing Room

3D Laser Scanning for BIM

Last month we posted a case study about using 3D laser scanning for an MEP space renovation. We received great feedback and some questions about other general uses for 3D scanning and modeling for building and construction projects. Below is a quick (but comprehensive) video overview of the benefits of 3D laser scanning of buildings, facilities, sites, and structures for accurate documentation, analysis, and design.

Case Study: MEP Facility Scanning

At Direct Dimensions we use many 3D laser scanning technologies for a wide range of applications. This case study illustrates how we used a spherical laser to capture and 3D model a complicated MEP space within an historic building for renovation into new modern living spaces.

 
The Backstory:
The current Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity was built in Emmitsburg in 1964 and was used to house the Sisters and headquarter various charitable efforts. But like other religious orders in the United States, the Daughters of Charity membership has dwindled and by 2009 the building was severely underutilized. Rather than let the building sit empty, the Sisters proposed a plan in which the unused space could be used to create affordable apartments and assisted living facilities for local senior citizens. While the structure itself was in excellent condition, the electrical and mechanical systems would have to be updated to accommodate the new facilities.

The Challenge:
To plan for the overhaul and installation of the new MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) systems for the historic facility, Whiting-Turner, the construction contractor, needed a fast and accurate 3D layout of the boiler room, and the various aged components and extensive piping. The traditional methods of hand tools, such as tape measures, distance meters, and sketch pads is time consuming, expensive, must all be done on-site, and prone to numerous errors. Whiting-Turner and The Daughters of Charity found an excellent solution with Direct Dimensions using long range laser scanners and advanced 3D software tools.

Just a small section of the antiquated MEP space which would need to be fully and accurately documented in 3D

Click here to learn about how Direct Dimensions solved this problem using 3D scanning and modeling.

3D Scanning for Visual Effects

Some more of Direct Dimensions' 3D scanning and modeling is showing up on the big screen this weekend in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

Last year some of our team got to spend an extended summer break hanging out with (and 3D scanning) Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and even Shredder. In addition to scanning the actors/characters we also digitized several set pieces, some of which you can see in the above trailer.

Where Do Gnomes Come From?

While we can't speak to the genesis of all gnomes, this video case study shows how the Gnute the Gnome watering can went from a hand sculpted concept to your local garden store.

Enjoy!

3D Scanning Helps Liars Make a Mess

While we do incredible things at Direct Dimensions every day, 3D scanning Liars band members Angus Andrew and Aaron Hemphill was the first time we've helped with any (literal) face melting.
 
The music video for the single Pro Anti Anti (directed by Yoonha Park) shows Andrew and Hemphill being scanned with an Artec handheld scanner, the modeling of 3D face scan data and the creation of a mold from that data. The mold is used to create replicas of Andrew and Hemphill's faces which are then melted down in the video. 

The video also features Direct Dimensions' own Glenn Woodburn doing the on-camera scanning.

See the video below and read more about it at Nowness.com.


Liars: Pro Anti Anti

3D Scanning for the Movies: X-Men Days of Future Past

Direct Dimensions employees enjoy seeing their work onscreen

Summer blockbuster season has begun! Earlier in the month Amazing Spiderman 2 opened and last weekend we had the chance to see X-Men: Days of Future Past.



Last year we took a large team and several scanners and digitally documented RFK stadium in Washington DC for the pivotal battle in the new X-Men film. You can see just a snippet of the stadium at the 1 min 40 second mark in the above trailer.

3D Scanning and Modeling for Archaeology

We have a talented group of employees at Direct Dimensions who regularly accomplish incredible things, not just at work but also in their personal time: publishing books, creating art, volunteering for important causes, climbing mountains, making music, and even designing a RPG.

Heritage Scanning Specialist Joe Nicoli is no exception. He recently spent time researching and co-authoring an article entitled "Exploring 3D modeling, fingerprint extraction, and other scanning applications for ancient clay oil lamps." It was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage. Congratulations Joe!

Article Abstract:
Ancient clay oil lamps provide an invaluable source of information for archaeologists as indicators of ritual, chronology, clientele, trade, and origin. Since the late seventeenth century, they have been drawn, painted, and photographed for antiquarian and scientific publications. The purpose of this paper is to explore various applications of 2D and 3D digital modeling and laser scanning of ancient clay lamps using the Steiblicher Comet L3D Blue Scanner. It encourages widespread adoption of this method for the creation of highly accurate archaeological illustrations, 3D lamp typologies, 2D and 3D lamp documents, and museum quality reproductions. Most notably, this study confirms laser scanning as an effective method for extracting fingerprints from lamp surfaces to make possible the identification of ancient lampmakers. Order and read the full article here.

In Memoriam: The Battlefield Cross

The tradition of using a rifle, boots and helmet (also known as the Battlefield Cross) to mark a fallen soldier's grave began during the American Civil War, perhaps as a replacement for a burial cross on the battlefield. Today it is used as a sign of respect to soldiers who have fallen.

A few years ago we had the opportunity to help create a memorial for Fallen Soldiers. We'd like to share some images of that special project in honor of Memorial Day.