Berlin's iconic monument the latest site in CyArk's mission to digitally preserve 500 historic sites around the world; Iron Mountain and Seagate provide end-to-end services for capture, access and preservation of scanning data
On the eve of the 25th anniversary of German Reunification, the Brandenburg Gate has been digitally preserved through a collaboration between Landesdenkmalamt Berlin, University of Stuttgart's Institute of Photogrammetry, CyArk, storage and information management leader Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), and world-leading data storage company Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX).
CyArk and its partners used laser scanning and the latest in reality capture technologies to create a hyper-accurate record of the Gate for use in ongoing conservation efforts and public education and interpretation. The scan results will be unveiled at CyArk's Annual Summit at the Berlin State Library on 20-21 October. At the same time, people around the world will be able to virtually explore the Gate online to learn about its history by viewing 3D models and videos.
"Digitally preserving the Brandenburg Gate is important because this structure is more than a municipal Monument, it is an icon of this city and country," Elizabeth Lee, vice-president, CyArk. "The Gate's scanning also contributes to the global conservation community that is working diligently to conserve the world's heritage sites – especially in the Middle East, where hundreds of monuments are at risk of destruction."
Once scanned, the imaging data – including data from the laser scan and photo, video, audio and metadata – is captured using Seagate storage solutions onsite and sent back to CyArk's servers at its headquarters via an external hard drive. CyArk's technical team can then access the raw data via CyArk's onsite servers to render them into 3D images. Once complete, some of the data is kept onsite for quick access, while a "gold copy" of the 3D image is backed up to a tape and transported offsite to Iron Mountain.
The laser imaging of the Brandenburg Gate creates an astounding amount of data – the equivalent of nearly 1 million high-definition photographs. Seagate is working with CyArk to provide cutting-edge enterprise servers, intuitive business NAS systems and rugged mobile hard drives to capture, centralize, render and archive these massive data files.
"Seagate is proud to partner with CyArk on their historic and innovative global undertaking, and the anniversary of re-unification is the perfect time to celebrate the preservation of the Brandenburg Gate in particular," said Ulrich Plechschmidt, managing director, EMEA for Seagate's cloud systems and electronic solutions business. "Seagate's storage technology is helping CyArk build the museum of the future, and we are excited to play a role in helping future generations experience this incredible site in a way never before possible."
Funding for the digital preservation of the Brandenburg Gate project was provided by Iron Mountain as part of its partnership with, and support for, CyArk and the CyArk 500. Iron Mountain protects and preserves digital scans of each monument scanned by CyArk, archiving the data in a highly-secure underground records and data storage facility in western Pennsylvania, U.S. Located 220 feet underground in a former limestone mine, the facility is guarded 24/7 and home to other important and priceless information assets and cultural collections, including rare photo collections and historical documents.
"We're thrilled to once again partner with CyArk, this time to help preserve and protect one of the most iconic landmarks in German history," said Hans-Günter Börgmann, managing director, Iron Mountain Germany. "Growing up in post-war Germany, the Gate was a symbol of peace and unity, yet was inaccessible to many until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Everyone deserves equal access to the ideas and artifacts of our history, regardless of geographic and economic barriers. The opportunity to apply our information management and protection capabilities to fulfill CyArk's mission of preserving cultural and heritage allows to us to use our expertise and experience to help ensure landmarks like the Gate remain accessible to all forever."
