Scherpenberg Mill Westmalle
a digital twin of an 1843 windmill
At the Scherpenberg Mill in Westmalle, I tested the digital twin principle. The brick windmill from 1843 is a protected monument. The goal: a sharp 3D model that you can view online from every side, as a basis for showing inspections.
The challenge
A windmill is a difficult subject to capture: a tall, round tower, a narrow cap and open sails with fine lattice work. Trees and hedges surround it, and the mill stands on a raised mound. The model needs to be sharp enough to assess the condition of the masonry, cap and sails, yet still load smoothly in a browser.
Our approach
On 21 October 2026, I flew several flights around the mill from different heights and angles and took 1,950 photographs of the tower, cap and sails. Of those, 1,930 form one coherent 3D model. I then cleaned up the model for the viewer. From above, I also produced an orthophoto of the mill grounds, with detail of less than 1 cm per pixel.
The result
The result is a sharp 3D model of the mill and its grounds. You can make out the masonry, the year 1843 on the tower, the cap and the lattice of the sails. In the 3D viewer, you move around the mill, zoom in on details and measure distances and heights. A front view from the model shows the facade in one image, without perspective.
This makes an inspection visible and verifiable, without scaffolding or a cherry picker. A later flight can be placed next to it to compare the condition.
Images
Photos: Sebastian Sysmans
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