Wyandanch scanning company says technology catching on

Corinthian Data Capture, a Wyandanch company that uses advanced laser scanners, says business has been improving exponentially as the public becomes more aware of what the technology can offer.

One company scanned Manhattan from the air last year, and a Scottish company scanned Mount Rushmore in May.

"So if Washington's nose happens to fall off," said Caitlin Uihlein, Corinthian's coordinator of business development, "there will be an image with its exact dimensions from which a replica can be structured."

Corinthian, founded last year, provides 360-degree, digitized 3-D images with 2-millimeter accuracy. The company specializes in scanning structures, such as historic schools and churches, and the images produced by the five-member company have many uses, including archival documentation, the creation of virtual tours and models, and as an aide in restoration repairs.

And it's not just for history.

"Say you are a classic car enthusiast and need a fender for your 1950s car, just get a scan and make a replica," Uihlein said. "Or say you live in a historic house and wish to get local landmark designation, a scanner would be much less invasive than a contractor crawling through your home."

The long-range scanner, which Uihlein compared to a boom box in size, collects raw data in three-dimensional coordinate points, with millions of points per scan. The scanner emits an infrared laser beam as the box rotates 360 degrees. Scanning can take from 30 seconds to one hour depending on the image's resolution; the average scan takes seven minutes.

"Specializing in structural scanning has created a niche for us in the industry," said Uihlein, who says that the company's local competitors are surveyors or engineers who use scanning as a supplement to the services they provide. The technology has been slowly catching on in America.

"We want to bring this worldwide technology to Long Island," Uihlein said. "Its application can be a huge benefit to document the world."

The company last month did a free scanning of The Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities' Joseph Lloyd Manor. "It was a gift we gave," Uihlein said. The exterior of the building was scanned to put in an archive and the company did a presentation on how laser technology can be used for preservation.

Corinthian hopes to expand its repertoire. For instance, laser scanning can be used to document a crime scene or auto accident in a non-invasive manner, which can then be used to make a 3-D model for court or as an aide in insurance claim documentation.