Scanning Monument Circle in Indianapolis

(Exact Metrology: Cincinnati, OH) -- Exact Metrology was contracted by Innovative, a promotional agency in Indianapolis and the creative content providers for the project, to scan Monument Circle which is situated within a big roundabout intersection in the heart of the city’s downtown. The focus was aimed at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which is recognized as one of the world's outstanding monuments. The structure is the state of Indiana's official memorial to the Hoosiers that served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Frontier Wars, and the Spanish-American War.

The monument stands 284 feet, 6 inches high, (just 15 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty) and there are a number of art works either built into the monument, or placed throughout the grounds, including four statues at the corners of the Monument that represent the infantry, cavalry, artillery, and Navy. The monument is crowned with a statue of Victory, holding a sword in her right hand and a torch in her left.

Application specialist Greg Hoeting from Exact Metrology drew the assignment and initially used a Leica P40 to collect the point cloud data. He then used PolyWorks to mesh the data and export a .stl file. Finally, he used Leica Cyclone 3D Point Cloud Processing Software to align the color texture with a center point at the base of the monument.

Hoeting set up and scanned around the monument and on surrounding buildings. Why the surrounding buildings? Back to Innovative: They are creating a light projection show with Downtown Indy Inc. that will be image-mapped on those buildings. The premiere date is an appropriate one: Veterans Day.

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Exact Metrology

Exact Metrology is a full-service measurement services company that provides on-site inspection, reverse engineering, noncontact laser scanning, and 2-D/3-D digitizing services as well as contract programming, software training, part programming, and measurement equipment implementation. Exact Metrology also sells, services, and implements metrology equipment solutions from companies including Artec, ROMER, Leica Geosystems, Breuckmann, Metronor, Surphaser and InnovMetric.