engleski

New technologies for improving the diver experience in underwater cultural sites

The touristic potential of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) is gaining more and more attention thanks to the educational and scientific activities carried out by the UNESCO that has led to the definition of basic principles and recommendations, ratified by 51 states, for the protection and conservation of the submerged archaeological sites. In addition to this historical and educative role, the UCH provides also an immediate value creation in terms of entertainment and learning experience, for the cultural enrichment of the individual, and of reputation and notoriety of a location, for the local identity that makes a place unique and can direct tourism streams. For this reason, the INTERREG MED – BLUEMED project (https://bluemed.interreg-med.eu) aims to improve the responsible and sustainable tourism of maritime and coastal areas by focusing on the promotion of underwater archaeological sites. In order to reach this goal, the partnership is developing innovative digital technologies that, on one hand, are able to encourage the diving tourism by improving the divers' experience in the submerged environment and, on the other hand, foster the induced tourist activity by means virtual tour of the underwater site. These innovative digital technologies fit the UNESCO’s recommendations for a respectful exploitation of the UCH and represent a tangible and efficient response to the challenge proposed by the European Parliament for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth of the maritime and coastal tourism. In particular, the BLUEMED project will demonstrate, in four selected underwater archaeological sites in Italy, Greece and Croatia, the use of an innovative underwater tablet equipped with an acoustic localization system and coupled with an autonomous surface vehicle. This combination of technologies allows the divers visiting the underwater archaeological site to see their position over the 3D bathymetry of the site, to be guided during the exploration and to better understand structural information of the archaeological site especially in the case of poor visibility conditions.

maritime archeology, underwater localization, multiresolution 3D models

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