At the 15th-century Halberstadt Cathedral in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, Intel drones are taking restoration to places that humans find hard to reach.
Inspections and damage assessment of the cathedral have been made remarkably more safe, easy and inexpensive through indoor and outdoor missions conducted with the Intel® Falcon™ 8+ drone.
The drone helped to gather data that can assist the next stages of restoration planning, meaning the cathedral and its precious artwork can be well preserved for generations to come.
Sanvada spoke to Anil Nanduri, vice president and general manager within Intel’s New Technology Group, to find out more about the project.
Sanvada: What are the main advantages that drone technology brings to a historical restoration project such as this?
Anil Nanduri: In this specific example, the delicate condition of the cathedral’s sculptures and structures necessitated a new approach to mitigate any possible damage by people ascending to the statues, or using additional ladders or scaffolding to perform initial inspections.
The statues specifically are in a very precarious and damaged condition. The conservators were concerned in getting close to the figures in an effort to prevent further damage to the sculptures, and to the delicate pigment color which is now a detached shell on the stone surface.
The Intel® Falcon 8+ drone carried out the inspections several meters away from the structures to mitigate this risk. Besides that, advantages include speed/efficiency, ability to get to greater heights, and safety.
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