It’s Australia’s Oldest Colonial-Built Craft
Excavations at the Barangaroo railway station in Sydney, Australia, in November 2018 unearthed the preserved remains of a boat. The discovery is quickly becoming an important part of Sydney’s maritime history. It’s the first Australian-built boat built with autochthonous timber discovered, and 3D laser scanning services are helping to recreate every detail of the historic sailing vessel.
Referred to as the Barangaroo Boat, a team of scientists is using 3D scanning services to create a 3D print model for display in the Australian National Maritime Museum.
The 19th-century boat measures nine meters in length and three meters wide. The boat is also around one meter deep. Recreating the boat using 3D scanning services can reveal previously unknown information about colonial shipbuilding techniques. It can also show how native Australian timber was introduced to Europeans.
Carefully preserving all ship pieces, scientists are carefully scanning each one using 3D technology.
The Advantages of 3D Laser Scanning Services
Using laser scanning with an annotated process, researchers can create a 3D digital record. It combines the objective digital copy and the archaeologists’ interpretation of the top timber layers.
It’s a new approach to using 3D scanning services. It’s paying off by producing accurate interpretations of the Barangaroo Boat. Scanning planks are helping to capture the most information, making the process more efficient. In addition, it removes any surrounding reference geometry, allowing the texture to appear on each wooden piece.
Another advantage of using the 3D scanning services is working with digital images remotely. A researcher in Rhine, Germany, for example, can see the pieces and the 3D images simultaneously, allowing for a smoother and more exact 3D copy.
Before the boat is assembled for exhibition, the 3D scanning services will create exact replicas of each piece. From there, researchers will assemble the boat, similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
