IRES: Intelligent Search and Mapping of Submerged Cultural Heritage Ancient Shipwrecks using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

这个国际学生研究经验（IRES）项目旨在开发一个自主水下航行器（AUV）系统，用于智能沉船搜索，绘图和可视化。该系统将改善目前的海洋考古方法，并在这样做开发新的技术，可应用于一般类的机器人探索任务。首先，调查将启动到概率算法，确定区域的高度可能性包含未探测的沉船，离线和在线AUV规划算法可以使用，以最大限度地提高信息增益时，搜索沉船。第二，可视化技术的发展，致力于表面重建，合并侧扫描声纳和立体图像视差图，同时将体积可视化的海洋网站的科学数据。第三，也是最后，这些技术将应用于实际的AUV沉船搜索实验中，在以前未开发和开发不足的地区的地中海。在这个项目中开发的机器人勘探技术将适用于考古学，海洋学，生物学，国土安全和国防的广泛应用。主要研究者和学生参与者将通过出版物和专业会议，并向当地社区成员和公共互联网门户网站传播研究结果。将为考古界建立一个网站的数字档案。该项目旨在利用研究结果将这些机器人技术介绍给包括美国和马耳他小学生在内的广泛受众，特别是在计算机科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体。 作为该项目的一部分，机器人研讨会将在马耳他和西西里的小学举行。

This International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) project aims to develop an Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) system for intelligent shipwreck search, mapping and visualization. The proposed system will improve on current approaches to marine archeology, and in doing so develop novel techniques that can be applied to a general class of robot exploration tasks. First, an investigation will be launched into probabilistic algorithms that identify regions of high likelihood of containing unexplored shipwrecks that offline and online AUV planning algorithms can use to maximize information gain when searching for wrecks. Second, the development of visualization techniques dedicated to surface reconstruction that merge side scanning sonar and stereo image disparity maps while incorporating volume visualizations of marine site science data. Third, and finally, these techniques will be applied in actual AUV shipwreck search experiments in previously unexplored and under-explored areas of the Mediterranean.The robotic exploration technology developed in this project will be applicable to a wide range of applications in archaeology, oceanography, biology, homeland security, and defense. The Principal Investigators and student participants will disseminate research findings via publications and professional conferences, and to local community members and public internet portal. A digital archive of sites will be created for the archeological community. This project aims to use the research findings to introduce these robotic technologies to a broad audience including elementary school children in both the US and Malta, and especially to groups typically underrepresented in computer science and engineering. As part of the project, robotics workshops will be run at elementary schools located in Malta and Sicily.