POMPEII, Italy, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Prowling the streets of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, and supporting its staff carrying out their duties, a four-legged robot is the latest resource deployed here on the frontline of conservation and restoration project.
Dubbed SPOT, the dog-like robot in yellow and black is among the several new technological and digital tools being tested by the Pompeii Archaeological Park to gather data, inspect structures' stability, and upgrade the protection system of one of the jewels of Italy's cultural heritages.
"We are testing SPOT on specific cases related to the monitoring of the archaeological structures," Alberto Bruni, chief of the project Smart@Pompeii, told Xinhua in a recent interview.
He explained that since SPOT could move autonomously on different kinds of terrain, it could take up routine patrolling activities, inspect locations difficult to access, and collect data in a safe manner.
"It is (part of) a very advanced system we have been developing, which integrates different monitoring systems comprising human inspection by archaeologists and experts and the use of sensors and of various other instruments," Bruni said.
The ancient Pompeii was destroyed by a catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius (near modern Naples) in 79 A.D.
Today its ruins -- added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1997 -- sprawl across some 66 hectares (50 hectares of which are excavated).
Bruni said the archaeological park was "too vast to be monitored through human activities only."
Thus, since late 2021, technological solutions were being brought in and tested in order to help improve the quality of monitoring of existing areas.
"The dog robot allows us to explore the underground structures that are too unsafe or extremely difficult for humans to enter," archaeologist Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director general of Pompeii archaeological site since 2021, told Xinhua.
"For example, we can use it in the tunnels created by illegal excavations, which unfortunately still take place and against which we have a counter-activity agreement with the Torre Annunziata Prosecution Office," Zuchtriegel explained.
The dog robot was being used at the Pompeii Archaeological Park alongside other new technologies such as the LEICA BLK2FLY, a Flying Laser Scanner capable of autonomously carrying out three-dimensional (3D) scanning.
Those technologies are aimed at making Pompeii a "smart" archaeological site, both in terms of conservation and safety and in terms of easy accessibility.
"Latest advances in the world of robotics, in the form of artificial intelligence and so-called autonomous systems, have produced solutions and innovations that are typically associated with the industrial and manufacturing world," Zuchtriegel noted in a statement earlier this year.
It is hoped that those technologies would mark "a very interesting phase in the history of Pompeii," the director said.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
