Digital and Mechatronic Technologies Applied to the Survey of Brownfields

The brownfields are amongst the most relevant historical evidences of the socio-economic heritage of populations. The rehabilitation of these sites, often aimed at inserting them in a newly conceived connective tissue of the cities, requires complete and accurate knowledge of their historical and architectural value: the former use of spaces, constructive technologies, environmental conditions and present deterioration must be investigated. The width and complexity of these architectural/urban areas requires complex survey methodologies. These analyses take advantage from digital mechatronic tools such as hybrid rover equipped with sensors to provide information on the damage of structures, degradation of plaster and in general on the state of the materials forming the different parts of the brownfield. This Chapter analyze a procedure combining traditional survey with mobile robot technology, aimed at recovering the geometrical and architectural features of these complex sites. The mechatronic survey is schematized as composed by main five tasks, which are described in the Chapter.