Luxembourg’s identity in 3D: Artec Ray II, Leo, AI Photogrammetry create digital Gëlle Fra for World Expo

3D model of the Gëlle Fra created with Artec Ray II, Artec Leo, and Artec Studio AI Photogrammetry

A graceful maiden towers above Luxembourg City at the heart of its historical Ville Haute quarter. Dubbed the Gëlle Fra (Luxembourgish for ‘Golden Lady’), she crowns the Monument of Remembrance, paying homage to the thousands of Luxembourgish volunteers who went to serve alongside the Allies during both World Wars and the Korean War.

The symbol of Luxembourg’s resilience

Watching over Luxembourg City for decades now, the Golden Lady has become an iconic part of the urban landscape, and for those familiar with her dramatic story, it is no surprise she was among the first to be digitized for the Luxembourg Pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka in 2025.

During World War I, Luxembourg was occupied by Germany despite its declared neutrality. While those under occupation could do little to aid the Allies, thousands of Luxembourgers abroad volunteered for the French army and died in combat. To commemorate their sacrifice, the Monument of Remembrance was erected and unveiled in 1923.

The memorial dominated the cityscape until 1940, when it was dismantled under the Nazi occupation; nevertheless, it remained a symbol of resistance and sovereignty in the hearts of the Luxembourgish people. After World War II, some parts were recovered and the monument partially restored, but the Gëlle Fra herself remained missing until she was discovered in 1980 beneath the main stand of the national football stadium. The resurrection of the Golden Lady cemented her status as a unifying symbol of Luxembourg’s national identity, resilience, and autonomy.

Hybrid approach to the task

Fast-forward to 2025: the statue is digitized for the Luxembourg Pavilion at Expo 2025, showcasing the country’s cultural gems, which range from architectural landmarks to stunning landscapes. Delighted at the chance to demonstrate both its devotion to Luxembourg and outstanding technological capabilities, Artec 3D employed its comprehensive line-up of 3D scanners and advanced AI photogrammetry.

Digitizing the Golden Lady proved to be no mean feat due to the complexity of its design, presenting multiple scanning challenges at once. The monument’s most prominent feature is a 21-meter-tall granite obelisk, crowned with a gilded statue: Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, or, as the locals call her, the Queen of Freedom. Holding out a laurel wreath, she symbolically offers it to the nation. At the foot of the monument, two bronze figures represent Luxembourgish volunteers who served in France: one fallen and the other grieving him.

To capture every part of the monument, the Artec team relied on a tried-and-tested scanner tandem, this time complemented with airborne photogrammetry. The unbeatable combination of the long-range Artec Ray II and the wireless Artec Leo was employed to scan extensive surface areas and zoom in on specific parts, respectively.

The Gëlle Fra is very tall, and using scaffolding or cranes would be challenging, so the team used a drone to capture everything from above, gaining access to harder-to-reach areas. With the monument located in one of Luxembourg City’s busiest tourist areas, the team was faced with another challenge – they couldn’t fly the drone over people.

Artec 3D’s Jerry Klein setting up Ray II to capture the 21-meter obelisk the Golden Lady crowns

To avoid crowds – and obstructed details as a result, Jerry Klein, Artec 3D’s technical support specialist operating the drone, captured the Golden Lady early in the morning. “Nowadays, drones are very advanced and stable in the air,” said Klein. “You can simply take pictures around the object and fly around it a few times. You can point the drone at the object, set it to orbit at, say, 50 meters, and it will record a spiral orbit video automatically. So it was quite easy to film.”

Greater flexibility through extra data

“The goal was to capture every object from as many angles as possible so we would have enough data later in processing,” explained Keynan Tenenboim, support and application engineer at Artec 3D. “With the Golden Lady, we used Ray II to get scans of the entire site, and Leo was used to scan the plaques around the sculpture and the obelisk, mainly to capture fine text and details. The key is getting good textures and as much usable data as possible.”

Much of what the team did was, as Tenenboim put it, intentional overscanning. “Even if we felt we had 90 percent of what was needed, we tried to capture an extra 10-15 percent of data,” he said. “That way, the processing team would have as much flexibility as possible and an easier workflow.”

Artec 3D’s Keynan Tenenboim scanning the monument’s inscriptions with Artec Leo

Ray II and Leo both excelled in direct sunlight, overcoming the main challenge of the scanning session: long, sharp shadows cast by the bright sun on the cloudless day, making the team go extra creative when selecting capture angles. Despite the elements, both scanners passed the sunlight test with flying (3D) colors.

Seamless processing: a case in point

Luckily, aligning all these scans and merging datasets from different devices was nothing to worry about – thanks to Artec Studio. Artec Ray II is equipped with a Visual Inertial System (VIS) that tracks its position in space and automatically aligns scans. When you scan something massive and import the data into Artec Studio, instead of hundreds of separate scans, you see one uniform object, requiring only a couple of straightforward algorithms to turn it into a final 3D model.

“If someone maintained the tracking system properly and didn’t move too far between scans, they could produce usable results with very little experience,” noted Tenenboim. “I’m not deeply experienced with Ray II myself, yet I was still able to deliver very clean data for processing.”

With the data captured and then processed inside Artec Studio in less than 40 minutes, one final, pivotal step remained: applying AI Photogrammetry to bring the model to life and make it completely photorealistic. Built into Artec Studio, AI Photogrammetry maps images onto scans and textures them in a straightforward, automated workflow that requires no specialized technical training.

Heritage beyond reality

The project designed to transform Luxembourg’s cultural heritage into digital twins resulted in an incredible experience not only for visitors to the Luxembourg Pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka but also for everyone else who can now explore the photorealistic replicas of Luxembourg’s landmarks remotely. With the final models perfectly suitable for AR/VR applications, they’ve been made available to the public via the World Expo app.

A 3D render of the Luxembourg Pavilion. Source: www.expo2025.or.jp

“It’s not the same as being physically on-site, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable,” concluded Tenenboim. “Digital twins let you experience things you can’t in reality – like seeing the backside of the Hollow Tooth or the top of the Golden Lady’s head. You’re no longer limited by a photographer’s angle or a fixed drone path. You can freely explore. It’s a different experience, not a replacement. But in some cases, it actually offers insights you simply can’t get in the field.”

Not only did this initiative shed light on the diversity of Luxembourg’s cultural heritage, but it also gave the Artec team a chance to showcase the remarkable versatility of Artec 3D scanners and AI Photogrammetry. By capturing the landmarks large and small equally brilliantly, Artec 3D helped create 3D models that will allow many to discover – or rediscover – charming, charismatic, and truly meaningful places across the Great Duchy.