The HMI of an experimental underwater vehicle for archeological survey, inspection and remote touring of important submarine sites and finds

The Italian project TECSIS includes several research projects about the application of advanced new technologies in the field of archeological research, maintenance, supervision and valorization of the historical and artistic patrimony. One research line regards the development of a prototypal robotic vehicle dedicated to underwater archeology. The prototype would be a hybrid underwater vehicle, that is a modular system capable to work both as an AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), as well as a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle), depending upon the different situations and applications. The HMI would be comprehensive of an ergonomic guidance system, for the ROV modality, software modules for interactive mission planning (only AUV modality), various visualization screens, and a database management system to maintain an up to date archive of digital maps of archeological sites, with camera images and important scientific data acquired during the surveys.