St George’s Hall has given the Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) unique access to numerous heritage assets and sites, where the VEC Industrial Digitalisation team have been able to use emerging digital tools and technologies for capturing specific imagery and data connected to such statues, rooms, and properties.
The teams spent a short while carefully capturing the portrait bust of architect John Weightman who supported the build of St George’s Hall from around 1851. Using light hand-held 3D image scanning devices, the VEC managed to capture multiple unique images of the statue, building a 360-degree view over only 30 minutes. These images can then be compiled together to create a virtual and interactive model of the statue which will be able to sit within digital platforms, including websites and allow remote users to explore every detail without causing damage, giving even greater accessibility than ever before.
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The support meant St George's Hall could:
- Protect and preserve the bust, reducing risk of damage without restricting access to the public and visitors
- Create virtual assets of statues and other assets within St George's Hall for sharing digitally
- Use this new virtual asset as a promotional tool for offering remote access for greater access
The Benefits
- Creation of digital assets can reduce the risk of damage to delicate artefacts and other valuable and historical assets
- Interactive images can encourage greater engagement for enhanced learning and understanding
- Contributes to the safeguarding of historical assets, using non-intrusive technology for collating data for more detailed records
- Use these datasets for 3D printing and photogrammetry purposes
- Digitise and classify historic material with AI
- Crowdsource and capture audience interest through the sharing of photos and scans, collating new data and information from an array of sources
