Architectural survey and Robotics: new frontiers in study, preservation and restoration of historical sites

In this work a study of feasibility is illustrated to design and build a mobile robot for inspection and analysis of historical sites of architectonic interest. This novel application for robotic systems can be considered of great interest because nowadays the need of more and more accurate and efficient survey activity requires enhancement and even development of procedures with more reliable, innovative, and advanced characteristics. Within this expectation robots and robotic systems seem to be suitable solutions even with the purposes of: operating in environments that cannot be reached by human operators. The study of feasibility concerns with the analysis and simulation of a robotic system that can be used for operating in historical sites. Basic features of such mobile robots, either legged or wheeled, are well known, but specific requirements should be considered for the proposed applications in archaeological/architectural sites, which can be considered as a novelty in the field of Robotics. Basic features of the proposed robotic system can be summarized as follows: the robot should be able to move inside the archaeological and/or architectural sites by carrying surveying devices and by avoiding damage of the surface and other parts of the site. In Cassino preliminary design considerations have been developed and a suitable simulation has been carried out in order to test a designed robotic system acting on a simulated pavement, for several operating conditions. The simulation process is of basic importance, since it is not possible to test in advance the robot on site and there are not precise information about the preservation of pavement under-study. A simulation has been carried out with different conditions and it has been also useful to test the operation of the design of a robotic system with hexapod structure .