
Several new technological solutions are currently being tested at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, including a quadruped robot named Spot, built by Boston Dynamics.
The experiments form part of the wider Smart@Pompeii project, which hopes to use such technological solutions to aid the management of the archaeological park.
Spot is equipped with several modes of functionality that enable it to carry out routine inspections and monitor the safety of the site. The park’s Director General, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, hopes that Spot may provide the solution to investigating the underground tunnels made by illegal excavators in the area around Pompeii. Safety conditions in these tunnels are extremely precarious, so the use of a robot could represent a breakthrough that would make it possible to explore them with much greater speed and lower risk.