Spoke 3 at the forefront of underwater archaeology and ecorobotics with the NEPTUNE™ project in the Aeolian Islands

During the spring of 2025, operational tests for the NEPTUNE™ project – an innovative initiative in the field of underwater archaeology focused on the digitalization and intelligent monitoring of submerged sites – were conducted in Lipari, in the Aeolian Islands.

The archaeological site chosen for these activities was the wreck of Capistello, an important late-Classical (4th century BCE) merchant ship resting at a depth of approximately 60 meters.

Discovered in the 1990s, the wreck holds a remarkable cargo of Greco-Italic amphorae and represents a unique testimony to ancient Mediterranean trade routes.

The underwater operations were carried out under the scientific and administrative supervision of the Soprintendenza del Mare – Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity of the Sicilian Region – which ensured the site’s protection and compliance with current regulations on submerged cultural heritage.

The operational team consisted of highly specialized scientific-technical divers trained in deep-sea operations and equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

Each dive was conducted using the SUEX Gemini underwater propulsion system, paired with the SINAPSI underwater navigation and positioning system, designed to ensure high-precision data localization even in the absence of GPS references. The tracking system was integrated with an 8K waterproof camera mounted on the vehicle to capture ultra-high-resolution images of the site, and with the Oceanhis multiparameter probe, which continuously monitored key environmental parameters such as temperature, salinity, pH, and conductivity.

The test protocol included a series of progressive dives aimed at validating the entire operational workflow:
– visual and environmental data acquisition;
– georeferencing of the surveys;
– data transfer to the NEPTUNE platform;
– and subsequent processing.

The NEPTUNE system, the project’s innovative core, was developed to integrate digitalization, artificial intelligence, and 4D Digital Twin models to enable dynamic and predictive management of submerged sites.

During the tests, the collected data were processed in near real-time, enabling the creation of a preliminary digital model of the Capistello wreck along with a three-dimensional environmental map. The acquired information—including variations in environmental parameters based on depth and location—was used to test the reliability of the digital model and the system’s ability to detect changes that could be critical to site preservation.

The results demonstrated NEPTUNE™’s effectiveness as a tool for underwater archaeology: the quality of the optical surveys and the accuracy of the positioning exceeded initial expectations, while the system’s ability to aggregate heterogeneous data (optical, environmental, and navigational) into a single platform enabled an integrated view of the site.

Additionally, the use of artificial intelligence allowed for the automatic identification of objects and anomalies, supporting the work of archaeologists.

The Capistello test represents a milestone in underwater research and shows how emerging technologies, integrated through eco-robotics, can revolutionize the monitoring and enhancement of submerged cultural heritage.

NEPTUNE™, coordinated by the Ligurian start-up MYWAI, is one of the winners of the cascade call for Industrial Research and Experimental Development projects in the domains of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics of RAISE Spoke 5, and is affiliated with Spoke 3, whose objective is the protection and care of the environment thanks to ecorobotics.

The NEPTUNE™ partnership is composed of MYWAI SRL, UBICA SRL, IMMERSEA SRL, NEXT VISION SRL, IIS – ITALIAN INSTITUTE OF WELDING and UNIVERSITY OF CATANIA, with the participation of the SICILIAN REGION – Soprintendenza del Mare, MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT – Portofino Marine Protected Area and OCEANHIS.

Cover Image
Capistello wreck
Author: Immersea (NEPTUNE™, Spoke 3)
Credits: NEPTUNE™ and RAISE