Advanced System Technology branch AST of Fraunhofer IOSB
In the field of underwater archaeology, the department has been successfully cooperating with the Saxony-Anhalt State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archaeology for many years. For the first time, an autonomous surface vehicle was used for this purpose on Lake Süßen at the end of 2018. Equipped with a high-resolution multibeam echosounder, it was possible to survey and 3D-model an approximately 7000-year-old sunken burial mound.
In the following years, the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) developed at the institute was used several times in the Süßen See and Arendsee to check and verify objects from sonar data. In the Süßen See, they provide valuable assistance to archaeologists: the ROV produces high-resolution videos and sonar data of objects and structures that can remain hidden even to experienced recreational divers in the murky waters.
In 2020, another sensor was successfully integrated into the vehicle. This is an underwater laser scanner from the company Kraken Robotik. This sensor allows the most accurate measurement of UW structures to date - deviations in the 3D model created are less than one millimeter. This sensor was first tested in the IOSB-AST test basin and later field-tested in both the Süßen and Arendsee lakes.