Vero Software help slow the forces of nature

The Queen's Head rock formation at Yehliu Geopark is one of the most iconic geographical landscapes in Taiwan. However, the famous sandstone, sculpted by waves and wind over time into a shape that resembles an Egyptian queen's head, is in danger of having its neck broken .

More than 45 years of natural erosion as well as tourists touching it with their hands has reduced the circumference of the neck from 148cm in 2007 to 136cm in 2009. It is predicted that if unprotected, the neck will break off naturally within five to ten years.

In an effort to prevent passionate tourists from damaging the iconic "Queen's Head" rock formation, Yehliu Geopark has recently introduced an artificial lifelike Queen's Head to coincide with the entry of the 1,000,000th visitor.

The project the reproduce the Queen's Head was undertaken by Ri-Cung Model Co.,Ltd., specialists in the Mock-up/Model industries. The original Queen's Head structure was scanned using a Faro laser scanner Photon 120 and converted to point cloud data. The remaining geometry was constructed using VISI Modelling and passed through to VISI Machining for manufacture.

For ease of manufacture, the model was split into 32 separate sections and machined from EPS (Expandable Polystyrene). With all the pieces complete, the model was reassembled and hand sculpted where necessary.

Concluding, Mr. Yang, General Manager of Yehliu Geopark (Neo-Space International Inc.) says that the use of advanced CADCAM technology and the excellent support from Twinsoft (Taiwanese reseller) have helped ensure the survival of such an iconic symbol - He is proud to have been part of this project.

A number of the hoodoo rock formations have been given imaginative names based on their shapes with the "Queen's Head" the most famous and currently being used as the unofficial emblem of the town of Wanli where the geological park is located. The Yehliu Geopark stretches about 1,700 meters into the ocean and was formed as geological forces pushed Datun Mountain out of the sea. Other noted rock formations in the park include "The Fairy Shoe", "The Bee Hive", "The Ginger Rocks" and "The Sea Candles".