Laser Camera Images Haiti Disaster

National Palace Imaged in 3D -- Following the earthquake in Haiti, immediate work focused on rescuing victims and tending to the injured, hungry and homeless. But very soon after that, efforts toward rebuilding began.

For five days beginning Jan. 21, scientists from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State flew over Port-au-Prince using high-tech imaging to assess the damage, locate groups of displaced people and map usable roads.

The imaging system, operated by RIT scientist Jason Faulring, is comprised of high-resolution digital photography and a laser-based technology called LIDAR, for "light detection and ranging."

LIDAR works something like RADAR, but instead of transmitting radio waves, LIDAR transmits laser light pulses. The light bounces off objects and scatters. A telescope receives the backscattered light and a sensitive detector measures the intensity. Using the data -- which can contain information about shape, measurements, distance and even chemical composition -- a computer produces a precise 3-D image.

Images: RIT, World Bank, and ImageCat(NASA)

WATCH VIDEO: Hurricane Damage Detailed By Light. LIDAR sheds light on destruction caused by Hurricane Rita.

National Palace, Optical Image --"We are getting very precise measurements of dimensions, which can be used to quantify damage, such as measure the volume of a rubble pile or the amount of shifting of a building," said RIT scientist Don McKeown, who is the project’s manager.

Compare the LIDAR image of Haiti’s National Palace to the optical image below. The optical image provides a good, overall view of the general damage. But the LIDAR image reveals precisely where and how the building is damaged.

And the images can be used in the future, when it comes times to design news buildings.

“Longer term this data can be used for engineering studies to determine how buildings fail and how they can be built better, for example,” said McKeown.

By Tracy Staedter