US: Topcon Positioning Group has announced its technology will be used creating a large-scale landscape portrait planned for the National Mall.
The project titled “Out of Many, One,” will utilize high-precision GPS survey technology from Topcon to create the “facescape” between the World War II and Lincoln memorials along the south side of the Reflecting Pool. The portrait will be viewable from atop the Washington Monument.
Artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada, commissioned by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery to create a six-acre portrait that will be a composite of several different faces, said, “This facescape would not be possible without the highly precise GPS and Hybrid Positioning equipment, as well as the technological expertise contributed by Topcon.”
Mark Contino, Topcon vice president of global marketing said, " “In a sense it is reverse surveying. Surveyors normally measure the real world and scale it down to readable maps. In this case, the project starts in the artist’s mind and each contour of his drawing will be redrawn in the field using stakes guided by Topcon GPS technology and MAGNET® Field software.”
The GPS positioning portion of the project is to commence in the week of September 15, 2014 and the final portrait is expected to be completed in October.
Source: Topcon
