A four-legged robot called Spot has been deployed to wander around the ruins of ancient Pompeii, identifying structural and safety issues while inspecting tunnels dug by relic thieves.
The dog-like robot is part of a larger project to better manage the archaeological park since Unesco threatened to add Pompeii to a list of world heritage sites in danger unless Italian authorities improved its preservation.
Spot, made by the US-based Boston Dynamics, is capable of inspecting even the smallest of spaces while gathering and recording data useful for the study and planning of interventions.
The aim is to improve both the quality of monitoring of the existing areas and to further our knowledge of the state of progress of the works in areas undergoing recovery or restoration.
Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii archaeological park, said that until Spot came along, no technology of its kind had been developed for archaeological sites.
The park authorities are experimenting with a flying laser scanner that can do 3D scans.
Zuchtriegel said that technological advances in the world of robotics, in the form of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, have produced solutions and innovations typically associated with the industrial and manufacturing world, but which until now had not found an application within archaeological sites.
Spot will be tested for use in underground tunnels made by tomb raiders, who for years made a fortune by digging their way into the ruins and stealing relics to sell on to art traffickers around the world. The thieves have been less successful since 2012 when Italy's art police intensified a crackdown on culture crime.
The use of a robot could signify a breakthrough that would allow us to proceed with greater speed and in total safety, because the safety conditions within the tunnels dug by grave robbers are extremely precarious.
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