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There are many hidden gems throughout the UK. Possibly one of the strangest is Gilmerton Cove in Edinburgh. No-one really knows how or why these strange tunnels were chipped out of the rock below Edinburgh’s busy streets, but there are many amusing stories to add to the mystery.Gilmerton Cove commissioned Commendium to visit the tunnels and create a full-colour digital model of the workings for their records, for heritage, conservation and architectural reasons. This included visual representations to enable people, for whom a trip down a deep cold mine would not be attractive, to appreciate the work of the Victorian miners as well as models suitable for architectural and historical studies. Glimerton Cove LiDAR Survey In a single trip, Commendium staff laser scanned the tunnels workings with state of the art LIDAR laser scanning equipment and took over 1000 photographs, from which a highly detailed, colour digital model was built.Commendium constructed a detailed digital 3D model of Gilmerton Cove and confirmed that at present the tunnels do not extend under the road, though it is clear they have in the past. The hight between the road surface and the tunnels was confirmed to be less than 0.5m, thus informing the cove of the need to consult with structural engineers to ensure safety. The format of the model was made so that it is available to Computer CGI applications, architectural packages and historical documentation.   Why Commendium? We provide high quality, accurate LiDAR scanning services to help a wide range of industries visualise physical data. This data can be output in many different ways, from CAD drawings, to meshed models. Gilmerton Cove was a great example of what we can do, but we have plenty of other examples to show you.   Get in touch to find out what we do and how we can help Get in touch

Whitehaven, is a bustling town in West Cumbria, overlooking the Irish sea. Like many ‘seaside’ destinations in the UK, Whitehaven has seen a drop in popularity with the influx of cheap flight holiday packages. However, with a rejuvenated sea-front, and an expansion of industrial business in the area, is resulting in a revitalised town full of life and fun. Commendium was asked to LiDAR scan the 'old Whitehaven seafront'. This involves scanning the area to collect all the geographic details and building information. Having scanned the front,  we were asked to produce a 3D model in a format which would be familiar to architects. Commendium constructed a detailed digital 3D model based on the point cloud data from the LiDAR scan. The data was gathered via 60 separate scanning stations strategically plotted around the seafront area. All the expected challenges surfaced during the scanning, lots of wind, rain, water spray, curious bystanders, seagulls, and car movements. However, despite the wild weather, we created a perfect point cloud and from this data, the architect’s model was built using SketchUp software. Building the model in SketchUp aided the architects, who are already familiar with SketchUp software.  We followed this up by building a model in Revit which was then used for architectural processes and procedures. This was highly accurate and saved time and money. They were able to view the model and used the information to assess and guide their decisions. A planning proposal for the area has subsequently been submitted and considered by the authorities. We offer a number of services that can cut costs and save time for architects, including highly accurate LiDAR scanning, photogrammetric modelling of large areas, data processing and more. Contact us using the form below to find out how we can help you. For a limited time, we are able to visit you on site to demonstrate our services in detail. Also available on 0330 119 0000 during office hours. Your Name (required) Your Email (required) Your Phone Number Subject Your Message

Yorkshire here we go again, off to Swaledale to scan a fascinating disused lead mine called Sir Frances level. The NYDNP commissioned Commendium to visit St Francis Level to create a full colour digital model of the mine workings for their heritage records. This included visual representations, to enable people, for whom a trip down a deep cold mine would not be attractive, to appreciate the work of the Victorian miners. In addition, the created models are suitable for architectural and historic studies. Over a series of 5 trips to the mine, Commendium staff laser scanned the mine workings with state-of-the-art LiDAR laser scanning equipment and took over 5000 photographs, from which a highly detailed, 3D colour digital model was built. There’s lead in those hills Scattered throughout the North of England are hundreds of abandoned mine workings, leftovers from the Victorian Period, when the Industrial Revolution, transformed Britain into a modern technology driven country that needed raw materials from anywhere they could be found to satisfy the demand. The deliverable outputs The following products were delivered to the client: Commendium constructed a detailed digital 3D model of the workings in St Francis Level.  From this model a short film was made which can be viewed on YouTube and is currently being shown at the Dales Museum in Hawes. The models have been archived and have been used for Historical Studies. In addition, they have been called upon to drive an application for further funds to preserve these precious items.  The format of the model was developed to be viewed over Computer CGI applications, architectural packages, and historical documentation. Nice clip on BBC Most recently Commendium has been asked to contribute to a BBC film featuring St Francis Level mine. Paul Rose interviews Richard, with our graphics and 3D models featuring in the clip. See Richard with ‘Paul Rose on the Yorkshire Dales’ here [About 10 minutes in] https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0004513/the-yorkshire-dales-series-1-2-swaledale Lead, silver, coal and more besides was extracted from these small private mines working throughout the local hills, which employed thousands. The relics of this period may still be found. Some mines, when you are armed with appropriate skills and equipment to enter, reveal a wealth of industrial heritage. Water powered Lift The St Francis Level contains a unique water powered lift, which was used to raise and lower miners to various levels. The lift is one example of industrial heritage at…

These ruins lie in the unlikely setting on the coast of Lancashire overlooking the Morecambe Bay. Quite the most beautiful spot despite proximity to the decommissioning nuclear power station at Heysham point. Commendium was commissioned to build a 3D model of The Chapel for heritage and conservational purposes, as a record so that its condition could be reviewed over the years. A series of approximately 300 photos was taken around the site and places in to Agisoft Photogrammetric software from where the model was built The model provides a reference – a point in time as to the state of the buildings from where its condition will be reassessed in due time.

Commendium recently scanned the worlds largest cave to help understand these underworlds better. Caves contain unique geological and meteorological records. Increasingly, the sediments they hold and the strata from which they are formed are being using to study and understand the Earth in ever more detail. They hold particularly valuable insights as they have been undisturbed erosion, be that due to human activity or natural meteorological processes. However, caves are dark, and so those parts that are beyond reach of the lights that speleologists can carry, have not been studied. Until now.Commendium has been part of a worldwide project to LIDAR scan the great natural chambers of the world in order to create a data set for further study. To date fifteen have been completed. We visited and documents caves in The USA, Mexico, Belize, China, Oman, Malaysia, France and Spain. It involved full scale speleological expeditions to enter and explore these places. Largest Caves in the World Commendium constructed a detailed digital 3D model of the all the caves in a variety of formats. The data sets are being used to date events in the cave development and also to date deposits that are being used to reveal climate change records over the last million years. This is corroborated with data from other sources, such as Ice Caps Cores, to improve the worldwide understanding of climate change. Cave records will allow climate change studies to reach back almost ten times further than any other source. National Geographic funded one element of this project, from which Commendium helped to build an array of 3D interpretations to help their readers understand these wonderful places. A film of the worlds largest cave was made by Commendium and can be viewed on Youtube. What we can do Commendium are specialist in scanning subterranean worlds. We go to places no-one else dares to gather the data needed for a variety of diffeent projects. Let us know what you are thinking and we can have an informalt discussion on your plans? 0330 119 0000 Get in touch