Ithaca College

Trim Castle is the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland. In 2016 Professors Rogers and Stull with students Chidi Anyata, Ryan Bouricius, Harrison Kesel, and Thomas Steele completed scans inside and outside of the curtain wall along with scans of the remaining portions of the medieval city wall. This summer Professor Rogers, staff member Ryan Bouricius, and students Harrison Kesel, Kevin Pomer, and Alex Tuong completed interior scans of the Keep. 

3D laser scanners record positional locations by recording the time it takes the laser pulse to travel from the scanner, reflect from the object being scanned, and return to the scanner. When combined with angular data the scanner can compute the 3D dimensional location. The scanners used by the team can take readings 50,000 to 1,000,000 times per second depending on which scanner is used. The team programs the scanners to take readings every 5 mm. The scanners can record 360 degrees in the horizontal and 270 degrees in the vertical; the only spot they cannot 'see' is the space beneath them where they sit on a tripod. The scanners also take a dome of photographs allowing the assignment of RGB color values to the XYZ spatial points. The work at Trim Castle has generated approximately 200+ GB worth of data. 

Over the next academic year the team will be processing those data and creating an online virtual tour. 

This project is funded by the Ithaca College Dana Internship Program, the School of Humanities & Sciences Summer Student Reseach/Scholar Program, the H&S Dean's Office, the Provost's Challenge Grant Program, the Department of Physics & Astronomy, an Ithaca College budget request, and Professor Rogers's 3D Visualization Laboratory. The team also acknowledges the logistical support and collaborations with Professor Scott Stull (SUNY @ Cortland);Denis Shine, Stephen Mandal, and Finola O'Carroll (Irish Archaeology Field School / Irish Heritage School); the Irish Office of Public Works, Amanda Pedlow (the Heritage Officer of Offaly County Council), Meath County Council, and the Birr 2020 group.