Submerged Heritage: Geomatics techniques and Augmented Reality

The Laboratory of Geomatica of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria sets a goal to relive and re-propose the experience of a real immersion and the exciting moment of archaeological submerged discovery: an immersive journey in the interest of interactivity in virtual reality. Immersive Virtual Reality tries to combine the real and the virtual world, even involving our senses. In other words it allows us to enter into a scenery like the virtual reality one, but without being just a simple spectators. We become protagonists and we can participate and decide what to do and how to do it. Unity 3D is the multi-platform development environment used. We can configure the application either in visual mode (using its user interface) or by programming (using either the C # or Javascript language). We obtained the scenarios and the objects included in the scene from three-dimensional models realized through photogrammetric techniques (seabed and artefact). As known, the direct underwater survey carried out by a human operator thought trilateration methodology (objective difficulty of the diver in maintaining a stable attitude) involves the use of a large amount of time (which is always limited in this environment) and an accentuated inaccuracy due to human errors. The Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) have been widely used in recent times by researchers to explore underwater environments, both in shallow and deep water, for different types of studies. The most innovative technologies of recent years have led to improve the quality of underwater surveys. They support the work of archaeologists even at depths where divers can work easily but with reduced immersion times. The ROVs , if assembled with cameras, could make a survey photogrammetric in a single dive thanks to the high battery’s life. For this reason the seabed was detected through the aid of an experimental ROV (realized in a broader project of agreement with the IPCF CNR Messina). A grid of known dimensions assisted the ROV’s use in order to correct the effects of distortion effects obtained in water. The proposed app is still being perfected and completed.