The VP8 Image Analyzer is an

analog computer An analog computer or analogue computer is a type of computer that uses the continuous variation aspect of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities (''analog signals'') to model the problem being solved. In c ...

produced by Pete Schumacher of Interpretations Systems Incorporated (ISI) in 1972. It has been used to image the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin ( it, Sindone di Torino), also known as the Holy Shroud ( it, Sacra Sindone, links=no or ), is a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man. Some describe the image as depicting Jesus of Nazareth and bel ...

. The VP8 makes a brightness map of whatever data it processes - white appears to be higher in elevation, black appears lower and mid-range appears between these two extremes. When the device was used with photographs or paintings, the result was a distorted and inaccurate representation of the original image. However, the Shroud image produced an accurate three-dimensional representation of the Man of the Shroud, with facial features, arms, legs and chest all contoured correctly. This was shown to Peter Schumacher, the inventor of the device, and he later recalled his astonishment: "I had never heard of the Shroud of Turin before that moment. I had no idea what I was looking at. However, the results are unlike anything I have processed through the VP-8 Analyzer, before or since. Only the Shroud of Turin has produced these results from a VP-8 Image Analyzer isometric projection study."''The Shroud'', ISBN 9780593063590 by Ian Wilson p. 22

References

{{Shroud of Turin, state=collapsed Analog computers Shroud of Turin