Visions: A Machine Vision and Automation Solutions Podcast
Aug 4, 2026 · 25 min · 10 segments
In this episode Jim Tatum interviews Chris Shelton about Penn State Behrend's VAR lab project to create a research-grade digital twin of the Liberty Bell using structured light, laser metrology…
Jim TatumHost
Today, we're going to take a closer look at an absolutely fascinating and important project in an area we don't get to cover that often.
Indeed, for machine vision engineers, it's hard to imagine a more challenging scanning target than the Liberty Bell.
You're trying to get a complete detailed scan of a priceless national treasure you can't put your hands on.
How do you do this? Well, we recently had the pleasure of talking with Chris Shelton, a psychology professor at Penn State Behrend, who heads up the school's VAR lab about their recent and remarkable effort to create one of the most detailed digital twins ever produced at the Liberty Bell.
Using a combination of structured light scanning, laser metrology, LIDAR, photogrammetry, edge computing, and hundreds of gigabytes of captured data, Shelton and his team set out not only to preserve a piece of American history, but also to open new possibilities for 3D metrology, digital preservation, simulation, and immersive visualization.
From scanning at micron-level precision under intense time constraint to making the resulting datasets freely available to researchers worldwide, this project offers fascinating lessons for anyone working in machine vision, imaging, and advanced measurement technology.
Today, we're going to take a closer look at an absolutely fascinating and important project in an area we don't get to cover that often.
Indeed, for machine vision engineers, it's hard to imagine a more challenging scanning target than the Liberty Bell.
You're trying to get a complete detailed scan of a priceless national treasure you can't put your hands on.
How do you do this? Well, we recently had the pleasure of talking with Chris Shelton, a psychology professor at Penn State Behrend, who heads up the school's VAR lab about their recent and remarkable effort to create one of the most detailed digital twins ever produced at the Liberty Bell.
Using a combination of structured light scanning, laser metrology, LIDAR, photogrammetry, edge computing, and hundreds of gigabytes of captured data, Shelton and his team set out not only to preserve a piece of American history, but also to open new possibilities for 3D metrology, digital preservation, simulation, and immersive visualization.
From scanning at micron-level precision under intense time constraint to making the resulting datasets freely available to researchers worldwide, this project offers fascinating lessons for anyone working in machine vision, imaging, and advanced measurement technology.
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