Mount Rushmore to get Laser Treatment

CyArk in USATODAY

by Dan Walsh
July 29, 2009
Jeff Martin wrote an article in USA Today about the upcoming Digital Preservation of Mount Rushmore.

"The stoic faces of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln will never know what hit them.

This fall, crews from Scotland and California will shoot laser beams at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial as part of a project to create a digital three-dimensional model of the iconic mountain carving from all angles.

The effort, known as laser scanning, will give archaeologists and others the data needed to repair or rebuild the colossal monument in case it is ever damaged by an attack, an earthquake or some other calamity, says Navnit Singh, director of interpretation and education at Mount Rushmore.

"It's revolutionary," Singh says of the technology, pioneered by Ben Kacyra, whose California-based firm CyArk, works to digitally preserve cultural heritage sites using laser scanning and other technologies."

Read the full article at USA Today