A major 3D scanning project of the Forth Bridge has started to help generate interest in the construction industry for school children.

The £300,000 scheme involved amassing a data-cloud of dimensionally accurate points on the Forth Bridge, Forth Road Bridge and the partially built Queensferry Crossing structures.

It was funded by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Forth Bridges Forum, while the laser scanning and digital development work has been carried out by the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation (CDDV), a partnership between The Glasgow School of Art's School of Simulation and Visualisation and Historic Environment Scotland.

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The 90-day project began in 2015 and involved digitally mapping the bridges on foot, from ropes, vehicles and boats.

Mobile mapping was undertaken in partnership with Leica Geosystems UK, resulting in a huge point cloud mapping the structures and their overall physical footprint over 3.6 square kilometres.

Transport Scotland has now secured a further £425,000 grant to start work on developing learning games, augmented reality apps, real-time interactive models for virtual headset tours and video fly-throughs for release in 2018, all aimed at developing STEM skills among pupils in Scottish schools.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: "If the bridges are a globally unique showcase of Scotland's world-class engineering skills, this amazing 3D scanning project also showcases the world-leading design, research and innovation in our Higher Education institutions.

"The possibilities for this comprehensive digital data are almost endless. It allows the production of detailed information and tools for conservation, educational resources, improving accessibility and delivering virtual records to help health and safety training as well as promoting tourism."

(LM/CD)