STORY: Digital technologies help with Yungang Grottoes protection in N China
SHOOTING TIME: recent footage
DATELINE: June 11, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:29
LOCATION: TAIYUAN, China
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY/CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): PAN PENG, Digital protection center of Yungang Research Institute 
2. various of technologies applied on Yungang Grottoes protection

STORYLINE:

Yungang Grottoes in China's Datong is a UNESCO World 
Heritage site featuring over 50,000 stone Buddhist sculptures

It is considered a pinnacle of Chinese Buddhist art and represents 
the highest level of sculptural artistry in the world during the 5th century

Nowadays, digital technologies are helping with its protection

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): PAN PENG, Digital protection center of Yungang Research Institute
"The challenging part of this work is its meticulous nature, much like knitting a sweater.
We primarily use three methods for cave digitization. One method involves a handheld 3D laser scanner, which is mainly used to capture detailed 3D geometric models of the entire cave. Another method uses a stationary 3D laser scanner, which provides large-scale spatial control of the entire cave. The data it collects are point cloud data, which can later be used to generate 3D models. The third method is photography, which captures the texture information of the entire cave. Since the data collected by laser scanning is colorless, we use photography to obtain color information. These three types of data are integrated, and eventually, they form a colored 3D model.
The challenging part of this work is its meticulous nature, much like knitting a sweater. When scanning, it's not always possible to capture everything immediately, especially in the nooks and crannies. It requires repeated scanning and processing.
The longest cave I've scanned so far is Cave 19, which is quite large and includes two side caves, effectively making it three caves. The data collection alone took us about two and a half months."
  
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Taiyuan, China.
(XHTV)