In 2019, Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue was visited over 2 million times by travellers from all over the globe. It’s an incredible sight to behold, soaring 2,320 feet above the city of Rio de Janeiro. Emblematic of the city and the nation of Brazil, the imposing statue stands 98 feet tall and spans a mammoth 92 feet wide.

Now you can see this historic landmark as never before. Geospatial mapping specialist GeoSLAM were asked to create a digital twin of the inside of the world-famous Chris the Redeemer statue before its 90th birthday restoration work begins. Using the latest SLAM (simultaneous localisation and mapping) and UAV technology, these incredible, never-before-seen images were created.

Gabriel de Barros Praxedes, GeoSLAM’s Latin America Channel Manager seized the unique opportunity to head up the scanning of this amazing site. The summit of Mount Corcovado was closed to the public whilst the entire site was scanned – inside and out. Over 180 million data points were captured, producing a comprehensive digital model of the giant monument in all its glory. You might expect such detailed image capture to take an age but in fact, it was scanned within 45 minutes using a state of the art handheld 3d laser scanner.

Gabriel navigated the narrow staircases and tight internal passages with ease using a portable handheld 3d scanner to capture the internal images. The same laser scanner was then mounted to a drone to capture the full, detailed exterior of the monument. Gabriel quickly processed the data so he could see the results of the scan before leaving the site, making sure he’d accurately captured every detail.

Commenting on the unprecedented feat, Gabriel said: “Given the level of detail on this monument – from the face, hands, and robe, to the staircases inside and carved marble base beneath it, I’m in awe of the capabilities of this technology and the clarity of data produced. We’ve been able to capture the statue in a totally new light, that almost no-one has had the privilege to see. This is one of the most recognisable statues on the planet, and a symbol of hope for many Brazilians near and far, and I’m delighted to have been able to capture it in its current form before the restoration works get underway. It’s hard to believe this statue is almost 90 years old; the scan really highlights the level of detail.”

More info: geoslam.com

Internal scan of Christ the Redeemer using the ZEB Horizon handheld 3d laser scanner

External scan of Christ the Redeemer using the ZEB Horizon on a drone

Still image of the 3d data view which can be viewed in full online

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