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Touching the Depths

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Touching the Depths

10.12.2015, by
Nicolas Baker [7]
When it comes to handling ancient pottery, nothing can replace a steady human hand. Or so archaeologists believed before they tested Corsaire 1 “Speedy.” The world's first submarine robot archaeologist explored the wreck of the Lune, a warship belonging to the fleet of Louis XIV, which sank off the coast of Toulon (southern France) in Novembre 1664.
Robot in a dark water. it is grasping an archaeological object in its claw which is illuminated by a headlamp
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The three-fingered hand with “adaptive grasp” adjusts to the shape of the object it handles without breaking it.
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An engineer manipulates a robotic hand.
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To mimic the precise and gentle touch of human archaeologists, the robotic hand is equipped with pressure sensors.
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An operator holding a joystick in front of three computer screens. He is piloting the robot.
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Corsaire 1 “Speedy” is controlled from the vessel, using live feeds from the on-board cameras.
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The robot is on the sea floor. In the foreground: a boat anchor. A cable is visible attached to the robot.
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A tether cable links the vessel to the robot, to exchange data and supply power.
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A robot arrives on a submarine shipwreck.
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The robotic hand can be replaced by "claws," which resemble rakes that cross and overlap in order to collect objects that are difficult to handle.
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A robot places an object in a case deep underwater.
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The samples are carefully placed in a case that is sent directly to the surface— letting “Speedy” get back to work immediately.
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Terracotta jars at the bottom the sea.
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The Lune shipwreck lies 90 m deep in the bay of Toulon (southern France). The ship, which belonged to Louis XIV, sank in 1664, taking hundreds of lives and thousands of objects with it.
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On the back deck of the boat, men are manipulating machines.
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The Corsaire Concept Project involves archaeologists as well as 3D imaging and robotics experts.
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A researcher cleans a jar brought back to the surface.
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Back on board, the finds are immediately processed. Their long stay in salt water have made them extremely fragile.
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Ceramic jar in varnished yellow and green.
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Of the many items found is this green and yellow glazed bottle, from the workshops of the Huveaune valley
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On the site of a shipwreck, a machine scans ancient pottery with a violet beam.
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The team is also testing a 3D laser prototype that can scan objects under water.
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Keywords

Archaeology [36] shipwreck [37]

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Source URL:https://news.cnrs.fr/slideshows/touching-depths

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[1] https://news.cnrs.fr/ [2] https://lejournal.cnrs.fr/diaporamas/un-robot-archeologue-pour-explorer-les-epaves [3] https://news.cnrs.fr/javascript%3A%3B [4] https://news.cnrs.fr/society [5] https://news.cnrs.fr/digital [6] https://news.cnrs.fr/robotics [7] https://news.cnrs.fr/authors/nicolas-baker [8] https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670%2F&text=Touching the Depths [9] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/dsc_5639.jpg%3Fitok%3Dz5rK6cHA&p%5Bsummary%5D= [10] https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=Touching the Depths%0Ahttps%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670 [11] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/l6938321.jpg%3Fitok%3D__nR7VkL&p%5Bsummary%5D= [12] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/l6938506.jpg%3Fitok%3DvnFg2rW7&p%5Bsummary%5D= [13] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/dsc_8849.jpg%3Fitok%3DbhdcpVBK&p%5Bsummary%5D= [14] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/dsc_8118-2.jpg%3Fitok%3DVIxtI1Wp&p%5Bsummary%5D= [15] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/dsc_7988.jpg%3Fitok%3D62WNbV6w&p%5Bsummary%5D= [16] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/dsc_8593.jpg%3Fitok%3DunOAgzXA&p%5Bsummary%5D= [17] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/l6937880-2.jpg%3Fitok%3DCzF0voHf&p%5Bsummary%5D= [18] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/l6938703.jpg%3Fitok%3DMbYvclRS&p%5Bsummary%5D= [19] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/_b040250.jpg%3Fitok%3DH0CA6HFq&p%5Bsummary%5D= [20] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/sites/default/files/styles/lightbox-hd/public/assets/images/dsc_7647.jpg%3Fitok%3Dx9tlsjY3&p%5Bsummary%5D= [21] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/science-one-step-ahead [22] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/ten-years-on-mixed-results-for-the-paris-agreement [23] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/colonialism-in-green-camouflage [24] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/cervantes-an-influencer-of-his-time [25] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/the-myth-of-energy-transition [26] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/an-underwater-robot-to-clean-up-coastal-areas [27] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/when-microrobots-manipulate-cells [28] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/french-team-tops-robocup [29] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/five-incredibly-talented-robots [30] https://news.cnrs.fr/videos/the-science-of-flying-robots [31] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/meet-arthur-the-first-deep-sea-robot-archaeologist [32] https://news.cnrs.fr/videos/lalibela-a-city-dug-in-a-rock [33] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/archaeologists-back-in-mesopotamia [34] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/how-to-reconstruct-the-sound-of-notre-dame [35] https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/unique-funerary-site-discovered-in-peru [36] https://news.cnrs.fr/archaeology [37] https://news.cnrs.fr/shipwreck [38] http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?s=100&p%5Burl%5D=https%3A//news.cnrs.fr/print/670&p%5Btitle%5D=Touching%20the%20Depths&p%5Bimages%5D%5B0%5D=&p%5Bsummary%5D= [39] https://news.cnrs.fr/printmail/670