Guy’s Cliffe House

Guy’s Cliffe House is a Grade II listed ruin in Warwickshire on the River Avon. The house has been in a ruined state since the late 20^th century and is rumoured to be haunted. The charted history dates back to Roman times, whereby Guy of Warwick - a knight and pilgrim - spent his final years living as a hermit in a cave which can be seen at the foot of the cliffs.

The current owners run regular tours of the building and grounds. Although the house is a ruin, the chapel and nearby buildings are in good condition and are used as a venue for weddings and other special events.

Customer Name: RiVR
Project and Location: Warwick, United Kingdom
Sector: Survey

Value: Non-Profit
Duration: 48 Hours
Products (Inc Quantity): 2 x Leica RTC360 Laser Scanners, Leica TS16 Total Station

At Sunbelt Rentals Survey, we’re always looking to get involved with the latest surveying technology. This was a very interesting project whereby our equipment was used to provide data for use in a virtual reality experience and documentary that is being produced about Guy’s Cliffe House.

Peter Maxwell, Technical Support and Training, Sunbelt Rentals Survey

The Challenge

RiVR is one of the world’s leading makers of photo-realistic virtual reality environments. The company is working on a project to create a virtual reality experience and documentary about Guy’s Cliffe House and the surrounding area and needed to use state-of-the-art scanning equipment to rapidly capture data and complete scans of the historic ruins.

The Solution

This was a unique project whereby we provided two Leica RTC360 Laser Scanners to complete scans of the area. The primary objective of the scanning work was to try and locate a series of tunnels which are rumoured to run from Guy’s Cliffe to Warwick Castle and St Mary’s Church in Warwick. According to folklore, Guy the legendary knight is said to be buried under the former grand house, although there has never been a concerted effort to find his remains.

The point clouds from the scans will be used to create a full model of the site and a virtual reality tour. Colleagues from Sunbelt Rentals Survey and Leica operated the two Laser Scanners and controlled it with Total Station work.

The Results

Thanks to the use of the equipment and surveying expertise from both Sunbelt Rentals Survey and Leica, some fascinating data has been taken of Guy’s Cliffe House. Leica has subsequently used the PointFuse software system to bridge the gap between reality capture and digital construction. It automatically converts point cloud data from Laser Scanners into 3D mesh models. This will subsequently be used for the virtual reality experience and documentary that RiVR are creating.

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The RiVR team were so excited to have Sunbelt Rentals Survey and Leica Geosystems partner with us on the Guys Cliffe house project because it allowed us to use cutting edge technology to get the best accuracy of the mesh we required of the old estate in Warwick, Warwickshire. We were amazed at the simplicity and user experience of the RTC360 Laser Scanner. We were able to train multiple members of the team on how to capture data during the day in Warwick. I have since been lucky enough to use the scanner at different projects around the UK including a theme park in Skegness! The scanner is massively portable and very precise at its data capture, perfect for our needs. We use the accurate geometry to align with our photos to make photo realistic scenarios for different clients. We are looking forward to the world seeing the results of our photogrammetry scanning at Guy’s Cliffe House

Alex Harvey, Co-Founder and Creative Director, RiVR