With support from this International Research Experience for Students (IRES) grant, engineering students from California Polytechnic State University, Princeton University and Harvey Mudd University have travelled to Malta and Italy to collaborate with Maltese archaeologists to investigate previously unexplored underwater archaeological sites. This project has focused on ancient cisterns located beneath fortresses, private homes, and churches.

Using sonar-equipped Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV), students developed

1. Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms to construct 3D maps, and
2. new 3D visualisation techniques for underwater robotics applications.

The research activities bring together an international team of archaeologists, robotics and visualisation experts and has a range of broader impacts. For example, by systematically surveying cisterns, investigators are better able to understand the development of Malta's ancient water storage systems and subsequently inform current water management strategy and policy. The robotics and visualisation technology developed will also be relevant to applications in oceanography, biology, homeland security and defence. Throughout the project, student investigators communicated their results to multiple audiences.

Visit the project website.

• The Malta Cistern Mapping Project: Underwater Robot Mapping and Localization within Ancient Tunnel Systems White, C., Hiranandani, D., Olstad, C., Buhagiar, K., Gabmin, T., Clark, C.M. Journal of Field Robotics, 2010.
• Mapping and Visualizing Ancient Water Storage Systems with an ROV - An Approach Based on Fusing Stationary Scans within a Particle Filter, McVicker, W., Forrester, J., Gambin, T., Lehr, J., Wood, Z.J., and Clark, C.M., Proc. of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO2012), China, Dec. 14-18, 2012.