Underwater Robotics and Multimedia Technologies for Marine Protected Areas

The paper describes a project aiming at the development of an integrated system for the acquisition and multimedia management of environmental data. The final objective is to provide enhanced tools for the conservation and management of hot spots of biodiversity such as pSIC and both marine and terrestrial natural reserves, including vulnerable habitats. In marine habitats, anthropogenic disturbances are more di±cult to perceive than in terrestrial ones. Consequently, the submerged portion of Marine Protected Areas (MAPAs), crucial for both conservation and management, is largely inaccessible and diffcult to monitor. The main advantages of our integrated system for the acquisition of marine environmental data is represented by the low impact produced by monitoring activities and by the low costs of management. This system can be potentially very valuable for the valorization of MPAs, making them accessible to environmental tourists, for scienti¯c purposes, and for MPAs authorities since it will be likely to improve research, safeguard and e®ectiveness in restrictions. This pilot system is expected to be installed in the MPA of Torre Guaceto (Brindisi), one of 20 Italian MPAs where such a technology could be successfully applied in the next future.