( CNN ) In 2001 , the Taliban wiped out 1700 years of history in a matter of seconds , by blowing up ancient Buddha statues in central Afghanistan with dynamite . They proceeded to do so after an attempt at bringing down the 175-foot tall sculptures with anti-aircraft artillery had failed . Sadly , the event was just the first in a series of atrocities that have robbed the world of some of its most prized cultural heritage . But historical architecture is also under threat from calamities which might well escape our control , such as earthquakes and climate change . The thought of losing a piece of our collective history is a bleak one . But if loss ca n't be avoided , technology can lend a hand . Now CyArk , a non-profit company founded by an Iraqi-born engineer , is using groundbreaking laser scanning to ensure that -- at the very least -- incredibly accurate digital versions of the world 's treasures will stay with us forever . Ben Kacyra was born in Mosul , Iraq , in 1940 . He moved to the United States in 1964 , and in the 1990s he was instrumental in the design of the first portable laser scanner . He founded CyArk , a company that specializes in digital preservation of threatened ancient and historical architecture , in 2003 . `` Two events happened that really influenced me and my wife , '' he told CNN 's Nick Glass , `` The Taliban blew up the Buddhas and an earthquake happened in Bam , in Iran . `` It demolished a whole mud city . So we looked at each other and we said , you know , sometimes you ca n't prevent an earthquake , obviously , and it 's very expensive to go back and rebuild , but if it had been scanned , our children and grandchildren would get the opportunity to come back and learn the history of that place . '' Since then , Kacyra has been doing exactly that : in a 2011 TED talk he explained his quest to preserve our `` collective treasure '' , and he has a plan to scan 500 World Heritage sites in five years . So far , the list of completed scans includes Ancient Thebes , Chichen Itza , Fort Laramie , Mesa Verde , Mount Rushmore , Petra , Pompeii , Rapa Nui , the Sydney Opera House , Tikal , and his native Mosul . The idea is not just to protect endangered structures , but to offer free educational access to the digital recreations of important monuments via the web . `` We have that data , and if something -- God forbid -- happens to these , the data is there , '' says Kacyra . In fact , current events have already caught up with the project : the Royal Tombs of Kasubi , in Uganda , were destroyed in 2010 by suspected arson . CyArk had mapped them a year earlier , and that could lead to the reconstruction of what was lost . `` I 'm constantly looking at what 's happening in Iraq and Syria . `` I 'm so glad that we had already started and developed the tools that allowed us to go and be proactive to capture some of these things before these very unfortunate events . '' To scan the surroundings , CyArk uses a portable , eye-safe laser device based on a technology called Lidar -- a portmanteau of the words light and radar . It accurately maps a physical area much like a radar , but using lasers instead of radio waves . `` We have a very powerful laser that sends a beam of light pulsing 50,000 times per second , '' explains Kacyra , `` which means that it 's collecting 50,000 points of everything that 's in front it as it pulses up and down and in a circular fashion , generating the geometry of everything that 's in the space around it . '' In other words , `` We gave the world a 3D laser scanner that has revolutionized how reality is captured . '' Although its focus is in providing open access to cultural heritage , CyArk is also attracting interest for alternative uses of the technology . `` We are discovering applications way beyond what we had anticipated , '' says Kacyra . `` For example , the Highway Patrol wants to use it in accident reconstruction on the road or in crime scene investigations . Where did the bullets go , trajectories and all that - this gives you the entire thing in minutes and then you can do all the analysis work . '' Not even Hollywood is immune from the allure of laser scanning . `` Imagine it going all the way to art , the movies , movie sets . My wife got really excited about the first use in the movie field . '' Before founding CyArk , Kacyra had developed a similar technology called Cyrax , which he then subsequently sold . This technology was first used during the production of the 1997 sci-fi cult movie Starship Troopers , to scan an underground cave . `` They found out it was going to cost too much money to measure the cave so they could model it , something like half a million dollars and six weeks . `` They had heard about our scanning system so we went there . I think we did it for 20,000 dollars , and in a day or two , and it got used in a movie for the first time . `` It 's ubiquitous now in the movie industry for virtual sets . ''
A company called CyArk specializes in digital preservation of threatened ancient and historical architecture . They have a team that is dedicated to preserving the history of buildings from around the world, including some very old ones like this one at the National Museum of Natural History