- NERITES (New Robotic and Intelligent Technologies for Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites) develops robotic and sensor technology for underwater monument protection.
- Funded by the EU through Horizon Europe with a €3.9 million budget.
- Focused on reducing costs and risks for cultural heritage preservation.
- Combines advanced sensors, photogrammetry, and autonomous underwater robots.
- Aims for real-time damage detection and continuous monitoring.
- Involves experts from Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, and Switzerland.
Imagine keeping millennia-old treasures safe while quietly ageing underwater—no small task, right? Enter the NERITES project, a European-funded initiative to save underwater cultural heritage through advanced robotic and sensory technologies. With a hefty €3.99 million budget and a three-year timeline (2024-2026), it’s got the resources to tackle a problem that’s been sinking dive teams for decades: figuring out how to protect sites without endangering people or breaking the bank.
Underwater cultural heritage includes shipwrecks, ancient ruins, and other artefacts currently enjoying their too-long underwater vacations. Unfortunately, they’re under constant threat from natural disasters, human interference, and, of course, climate change playing its greatest hits. Traditional methods of monitoring these sites rely heavily—sometimes too heavily—on divers. While those brave folks are good at their job, the approach is risky and ridiculously inefficient.
This is where NERITES plans to flip the scuba script with non-invasive, cost-effective, autonomous systems. Think self-sufficient robots armed with sci-fi-worthy tech like hyperspectral imaging and laser spectrometry. You’ll be glad to know no one needs to strap on a wetsuit after every storm to check if a 2,000-year-old shipwreck lost another nail.
How Do You Protect Something You Can’t Touch?
NERITES’ secret sauce lies in bringing next-level tools to underwater archaeology. Let’s break it down.
- Sensor Powerhouses: Using tech like Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL), experts can detect changes in an artifact’s chemical makeup in real-time. Translation? No need to yank samples out of the water.
- Photogrammetry & Hyperspectral Imaging: These techniques map and analyze surface damage with both precision and flair. If a ruin’s limestone facade starts crumbling, they’ll know ASAP.
- Autonomous Underwater Robots (AUVs): No offence to divers everywhere, but these robots don’t get tired, cold, or spooked by sharks. They roam underwater with cameras, sensors, and just enough independence to constantly supervise the artefacts.
- Surface Support Platforms: Think of these as charging stations paired with Wi-Fi extenders for underwater robots, ensuring they’re powered up and plugged into their human overseers at all times.
Why go to all this trouble? Because prevention is so much cheaper (and less tragic) than the cure. With real-time data and early warning systems, teams can step in before small cracks turn into catastrophic collapses.
A Not-So-Final Resting Place
What is the one thing underwater wrecks and monuments have in common? They deserve extra TLC. NERITES is spearheaded by 13 partners across Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, and Switzerland, bringing together enough smarts to make this a trans-European effort. If all goes well, they’ll establish standard international practices for managing underwater cultural sites—a significant step forward in making this tech accessible to future preservationists.
Ultimately, the project isn’t just about playing with robots or geeking out over lasers (although both sound pretty cool); it’s about ensuring that priceless treasures don’t disappear forever. And let’s be honest—if robots can do all the dirty work while divers kick back on the boat, who will say no?
NERITES: Προστασία των Υποβρύχιων Μνημείων με τη χρήση Ρομποτικής Τεχνολογίας
