Some frequently asked questions.
Late summer we will support an archaeological excavation programme by providing close up high-detail 3D laser scanning via the new offering from Voyis, the Insight Macro or Nano laser scanner. We often get asked a few questions, which we would like to address here.
Question: Is the Voyis device one-of-kind? Who are the competitors?
Answer: The technology is very much one of a kind, but there are at least two other companies creating UW scanners besides Voyis. The other two companies are more geared towards the oil, gas, and nuclear industries. This is where the technology started. Voyis is looking for ways to expand the use and is getting into the exploration side of things where scientists, archaeologists, and engineers will benefit with logistically simple expeditions.
Question: Has the Greek seabed been scanned before with 3D lasers?
Answer: We believe the answer is no. There have been other technologies, like side scanning sonar, but that’s a completely different technology that serves a different purpose. That is more suited to finding something in a larger area, as opposed to fine detail. Using a camera analogy, side scanning sonar is a wide angle lens and close up high detail 3D laser scanning is like a super telephoto. These two different technologies are tools for archaeologists and marine scientists. Close-up high-detail 3D laser scanning is simply a new tool with new benefits.
Question: Is this expedition the first of its kind?
Answer: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ROV mounted close-up high-detail 3D laser scanning performed on ancient shipwrecks.
Hellenic Archaeological Exploration Society
The Hellenic Archaeological Exploration Society is an AHEPA National Project. The purpose of this NGO is to facilitate archaeological projects in Greece, with an emphasis on maritime archaeology.
