An AI-guided robot has helped reconstruct fragmented frescoes in the archaeological area of Pompeii It was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79Using robots to rearrange the remains as if they were a puzzle.
Prototype It’s part of “RePAIR,” which is an acronym for “Reconstructing the Past.”It is a research project funded by the European Union that has been working since 2021 to rearrange the remains of the wall paintings to rearrange them with the help of mechanical arms.
“After four years of work, the European Reform Project, an international cooperation, has been concluded It brought together worlds that seemed far away: the most advanced technologies “Artificial intelligence and robotics with archaeology and the preservation of cultural assets,” explained project coordinator Marcelo Belillo in a statement.
Specifically, the research focused on two frescoes that they described as “iconic”: a ceiling Some rooms of the house of painters working in the chaste lovers’ insulawhich was damaged during a volcanic eruption in 1979 and destroyed after World War II bombings; and the frescoes of the Schola Armaturarum.
Belillo added that the robot, which is guided by artificial intelligence and the use of algorithms, has facilitated the work of archaeologists and “It represents a pioneering first step towards an ambitious goal”, which aims to eliminate one of “the most arduous and frustrating activities of archaeological research”.
The system consists of two identical robotic arms connected to each other A The trunk is equipped with vision sensorsIt has a flexible structure capable of precise grip.
The robotic infrastructure was installed at Casina Rustica, a government building within the Pompeii Archaeological Park, which It has been renovated and adapted to house technological equipment necessary.
Furthermore, in order to study the remains, the research team, after digitizing the fragments, created Artificial replicas so the robotic system can handle the parts Not authentic in testing stages.
“After obtaining images of individual parts and digitizing them, the system Try to solve the “puzzle” The solution found is sent to the hardware platform which, using two robotic arms equipped with “soft hands,” automatically places the parts in the desired position, the coordinator explained.
Thousands of remains of damaged works have been sitting in warehouses for years, forming an impossible puzzle That thanks to this technology, they will be able to take shape thanks to new technologies.
The project was developed in parallel and in coordination with what was done by a group of experts in mural painting from the University of Lausanne, led by Professor Michel E. Fox, who It has been working in this context since 2018, through a program of study and manual recombination Based on the analysis of morphological and stylistic aspects and various technical parts.