High-Tech Gaming Laser Takes On 200-Year-Old Monument

Online, March 26, 2012 (Newswire.com) - The Spanish Constitution Monument is getting a dose of 21st century technology on March 31, 2012, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Plaza de la Constitución located in downtown St. Augustine. On Saturday morning the historic icon will be laser scanned with the help of Activision Publishing, a premier developer and publisher of software in the video game industry.

Chris Ellis, a 3D scan technician at Activision in Los Angeles, is travelling to St. Augustine to scan the monument. Activision is providing the scan at no cost to the City of St. Augustine. The scan will create an exact digital image of the monument that will be used to produce three replica monuments.

"Activision is thrilled to support the City of St. Augustine on this incredible historic project. We use laser scanners to replicate real-world locations or objects in video games, and we are excited to use our equipment to help make history," said Ellis.

This project will be the first step in accomplishing one of the seven legacy projects for the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration, which in 2015 will mark the anniversary of the founding of America's First City. Full-scale replicas of the Constitution Monument will be crated for shipment to Cadiz, Spain, the city where the original Spanish Constitution was signed; Aviles, Spain, St. Augustine's sister city; and Miami, Florida, where the monument will be held in trust until democracy returns to Cuba, at which time Miami will re-gift the monument to Havana.

The history of the monument dates back 200 years. In the spring of 1812, Spain's national legislative assembly meeting in Cadiz created the first Spanish Constitution, establishing the right to vote, national sovereignty, freedom of the press, land reform and free enterprise. A directive was sent to Spanish settlements around the world to construct monuments to honor the constitution. Today, nearly two centuries later, St. Augustine's Plaza de la Constitución stands as a testament to the document and its historical significance. Restoration of the powers of the monarchy in 1814 led to orders that every reminder of the constitution's guarantee of democratic rights be destroyed. Historians believe that each Constitution Monument, in every corner of the world was destroyed, except the one constructed in St. Augustine. Whether local officials didn't get the order or whether they ignored it is a subject of much local debate, but every visitor to St. Augustine for the past two hundred years has seen the iconic representation of Spain's democratic reform movement. And thanks to Activision technology, three other cities will soon have an exact replica.

Anyone interested in viewing the Constitution Monument scan is welcome. Ellis will be available to answer questions about the equipment, the scanning process, and his work at Activision. City of St. Augustine representatives will be available to answer questions about the Constitution Monument. If weather is a problem, then the scan will take place on Sunday, April 1, 2012. For more information, call 904.825.1053.