Results to Date 
Some of the rendered images can be seen in Figures 7,8 and 9. 
These were produced in 3D Studio Max using an array of mod- 
elling lights to simulate a studio lighting configuration. In addi- 
tion, several animations have been produced focussing on the 
armour as cultural artefact. 
Discussion 
  
Figure 10, to the left, shows Ned Kelly’s armour as it has proba- 
bly not been seen since the day of the siege of Glenrowan. The 
two shoulder panels are Ned’s (one is held by the Melbourne 
Museum, the other by the State Library of Victoria), the front 
panel is Ned’s (State Library of Victoria), the back panel is 
Ned’s (Victorian Police Museum) and the lappet currently 
attached to the real armour has been replaced with the actual 
lappet from Ned’s suit (VPM). This view is not possible with- 
out physical intervention with the armour, something that is not 
possible from the point of view of conservation. 
One of the benefits of a digital artefact model is the ability to 
present the data in an engaging and informative manner, and in 
a location remote from the actual artefact. 
The controlled geometry of the laser scanning also provides a 
data set that would enable the production of an accurate facsim- 
ile, if this was ever required as a result of damage or if the need 
arose to exhibit a physical set of armour when the original was 
not available. 
The resolution of the laser scanning also shows the surface mi- 
cro-topography well, not only the indentations from the bullets 
(which gives an indication of the physical abuse Ned must have 
suffered when hit) but also the dents from the forging process 
and the stamps of the mouldboard makers. No other method of 
measurement offers this level of three dimensional detail. 
Conclusion and Future Developments 
A high resolution, fully textured digital facsimile of the com- 
plete set of Ned Kelly's armour was successfully produced us- 
ing a combination of laser scanning, photography and computer 
visualisation. This process offers the ability to reproduce (or 
‘clone’) artefacts for preservation and conservation purposes, as 
well as enabling the ‘sharing’ of artefact collections between 
organisations without the need to ship, insure and display. The 
process also offers a method of verifying the provenance of 
artefacts, and may help in reducing the trade in stolen antiqui- 
ties by providing high resolution 3d reference data sets of ob- 
jects. 
The scanning of the armour represents phase one in the devel- 
opment of a virtual reality multimedia exhibition on the Ned 
Kelly story. At the time of writing no further progress had been 
made on the exhibition. 
Acknowledgements: 
The assistance of the staff at the State Library of Victoria, and 
Scanning and Inspection Pty Ltd during the data acquisition 
process is acknowledged. 
References: 
Da Costa, K., S. Kenderdine, C. Ogleby and J. Ristevski. 
(2000). “1000 Years of the Olympic Games: Treasures of 
Ancient Greece.” Proceedings, 6th International Confer- 
ence on Virtual Systems and Multimedia 6: 104-115 
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