DIGITAL OCEAN

"INTEGRATED MULTIMEDIA MIXED REALITY SYSTEM, OF REAL TIME VIRTUAL DIVING, BY WEB TELEOPERATED UNDERWATER DATA COLLECTING ROBOTS, DIFFUSED ONLINE AND THROUGH A NETWORK OF SUBMERSIBLE SIMULATION DEVICES"

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Discovery of ocean depths concerns every one of us. Recent developments of new technologies, of underwater robotic and of GPS are changing dramatically the way people perceive oceans, not anymore from their surfaces, but through their depths, not in immersion but on-line, not deferred but in real time. This is the objective of Digital Ocean. New technologies are now capable of challenging traditional scuba diving by creating an innovative form of diving, based on science and technology, not on bravery - virtual diving in real time. Navigating freely in the oceanic realm, a dream rooted on man’s origins, is now accessible to all. Smart autonomous robots are used to collect underwater digital data that generate sceneries of undersea in 3D interactive imagery. Then, these preprocessed background productions are merged, through mixed reality, with real time 2D videos taken by other distant underwater remote controlled robots teleoperated via the internet, and diffused on-line. As a result, through the web, anyone, anywhere, at any moment - with minimal costs and no risks, will be able to dive virtually in real time, in the most remarkable and secluded sites around the world, unconcerned by sea depths, and get an unmatched quality of images, discover a variety of details, experience the feelings of diving without its constraints and, above all, keeping undisturbed the environment Thus, virtual divers alone or in groups, will be able in few days to discover more than a real diver during all his lifetime. To further enhance virtual diving experience, are integrated in the system a serious video game, a wiki-editing and e-learning platforms, linked with marine specialists. Divers themselves will build their immersed world, keeping virtual sites mirroring real sites, continuously updated and improving in realism. With Digital Ocean, the discovery of the other two thirds of our planet’s immersed territories will become eventually and irreversibly reachable.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

A vision to combine novel submersible robots and create real-time online multimedia presentations promises to bring the complex underwater world with all its nature and beauty to any computer.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Our seas and oceans are essential to life and to a healthy ecosystem but remain a mystery to many people. While divers know much about the deep sea, most people do not have the energy, means or desire to explore its depths. A new high-tech system designed to unveil the seas' biodiversity and natural beauty in real time promises to overcome the lack of knowledge in the field and foster awareness to encourage more sustainable oceans.

This was the mandate of the EU-funded project http://www.digitalocean.eu (DIGITAL OCEAN) . The project envisioned the use of digital technologies to collect and digitise underwater data using smart robots in order to disseminate rich imagery and related multimedia on the web. Such 'virtual diving' would be supported by an informative video game and e-learning platform, engaging citizens in learning about the seas and oceans.

To achieve its objectives, the project gathered nine partners from five European countries who combined their expertise and designed a system based on underwater robotics, virtual reality, e-learning and computer systems. It worked on designing a new autonomous submersible mobile device named Dolphyn that processes and feeds information to the Internet.

This involved studying the commercial success of the Dolphyn system, as well as building and testing a prototype device. The project team also developed an exploitation plan and has secured an order from a marine reserve in France.

In effect, the system enables anyone from anywhere and at any time to 'dive virtually' for a small fee, enjoying quality seascapes and high-quality information without diving or disturbing the environment. The technology could prove very useful for marine protected areas and reserves, as well as diving sites and historical heritage shipwrecks. Education, tourism and leisure will certainly benefit from such an enterprising endeavour if the system becomes mainstream.