Digitizing Alcatraz: Creating a 3D map to monitor climate change with Lenovo and AMD

How Lenovo Workstations Advanced by AMD Transformed Their Process

For Peter, being stuck on Alcatraz Island for three weeks was a dream come true. He and his team were there to survey and map the island, using cutting-edge terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), drone- based LiDAR, and photogrammetry technologies— as well as a powerful Lenovo ThinkStation P8 workstation to process the vast amounts of data generated and build a detailed 3D map of the infamous island.

The Challenge

Unable to leave Alcatraz Island until they had scanned every nook and cranny, the VCTO Labs team needed to be able to post-process the huge amounts of data captured by laser scanners and drones on site.

The Solution

VCTO Labs used a 96-core Lenovo ThinkStation P8 workstation, equipped with NVIDIA RTX graphics cards and powerful AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors, to process huge photogrammetry data sets at speed. The single-socket Lenovo ThinkStation P8 workstation punches above its weight in performance for heavy-duty graphics, 3D rendering, game development, and more.

The Results

After scanning every space they could get into— including a 150-year-old sewer—VCTO Labs was able to build a highly detailed 3D map that the

U.S. National Parks Service can use to track the impact of climate change. Peter states: “The ThinkStation P8 gave use the horsepower we needed to process huge data sets right there on Alcatraz Island.”

“This project wouldn’t have worked without Lenovo, it’s that simple.”

The Lenovo ThinkStation P8 with AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO and NVIDIA RTX professional GPUs offers stunning performance with up to 96 cores and clock speed up to 5.3GHz. The P8 combines Lenovo’s legendary reliability and customer-driven innovation with professional manageability and enterprise-class support.

Purpose built with the speed and configurability the professional AI workflows require, this powerhouse offers PCIe Gen4, unmatched professional GPU support, as well as increased storage speed and fast onboard 10GB ethernet. The ThinkStation P8 paired with the ThinkPad P1 provide the tools you need to fully realize your creative vision.