MEXICO CITY.- Emblematic Mexican constructions such as the Metropolitan Cathedral, Palacio Nacional, Padre Tembleque Aqueduct and San Juan de Ulua Fort have been digitalized by the National Institute of Anthropology and History using the laser scanner method, becoming a pioneer in Latin America.

As part of the seminar that took place at Templo Mayor Museum, in Mexico City Historical Center, different projects that have used the 3D Laser Scanner technology to conform a digital database of historical and archaeological constructions in Mexico were made known.

This practice has resulted on better restoration decision-making regarding built heritage, such as in the cases on Santa Ana Temple and Ex Convent, in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan, San Juan de Ulua Fort, in Veracruz, Veracruz, and Plaza Seminario in Mexico City, which interventions were designed based on digital surveying obtained with the laser scanner system.

INAH acquired the technology to create the Laboratory of Image and Dimensional Analysis in 2009 part of the National Coordination of Historical Monuments (CNMH). The scheme is called Project for Cooperation to Development, promoted by INAH and the Institute for Heritage Restoration (IRP) of the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Spain.

Architect Juan Carlos Garcia Villarruel, in charge of the laboratory, explained that the laser devise can register 50,000 laser points per second, sending information in real time to a computer that processes data to allow 3d visualization, providing highly detailed images.

Graphic designer Angel Mora Flores, in charge of the Unit of Technological Support to Historical Monuments added that this technology facilitates the creation of databases that allow metric analysis and generation of virtual visits.

Among experts who participated are doctors Jose Herraez and Pablo Jose Navarro from Universidad Politecnica de Valencia; and architects Caledonio Rodriguez, Gilberto Garcia, Heber Moreno and Vanessa Villeda, from INAH-CNMH.

Regarding archaeological research, the scanner has been applied in Plaza Gamio excavations in Mexico City, as well as in La Ventilla and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, both in Teotihuacan, Estado de Mexico.

This technology has allowed defining problems regarding structural behavior of the temples of Loreto, La Concepcion and La Santisima, located in Mexico City Historical Center. 3D models of the Santa Ana Temple and Ex Convent have been created as well.