AI recreates Vatican City church and identifies invisible damage | Tech News [Video]

AI has been used to find structural vulnerabilities in St Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican City, that are invisible to the naked eye.

A digital twin of the famous Catholic church was created through AI creating an ultra-precise 3D computer model that simulates an object in the physical world.

The project was developed by Microsoft and the Vatican in collaboration with Iconem, a French startup specialising in digital preservation.

It is called La Basilica di San Pietro and involved drones, cameras and lasers being used to take more than 400,000 detailed images to create an exact digital replica of the exterior and interior over a period of three weeks.

AI analysis then identified cracks and fissures invisible to the human eye which will help with restoration work.

It also revealed previously hidden or lost mosaic tiles and uncovered an ornate ceiling.

Vice chair and president of Microsoft Brad Smith said: ‘It is literally one of the most technologically advanced and sophisticated projects of its kind …