The underwater environment beyond its natural unique beauties has a
great scientific interest as it pertains all fields of marine research;
despite this, it has not been adequately exploited for cultural and
tourism purposes. Virtual and augmented reality technologies have
advanced considerably in re-producing and representing unreachable
large-scale environments. To this end, this work presents an integrated
interactive framework for exploring the underwater world such as
submerged cities, shipwrecks, sunken harbors, diving and marine parks,
either in situ via augmented reality, or remotely via virtual reality.
Firstly, the designed solution exploits high-resolution visual and range
data acquired with state-of-the-art technologies (swath mapping systems,
underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles) and processed through
novel approaches to create a synthetic topographic relief basemap and to
analyze its geomorphology, as well as the anthropogenic interventions.
Secondly, this framework allows to write narrative scenarios and produce
interactive VR experiences, through a set of custom tools for multimedia
content management. The developed framework, named VIRTUALDIVER, will
enable domain experts to design immersive xReality experiences and users
to experience environments that are typically accessed only by
underwater vehicles in cost-intensive, scientific missions. This will
promote the underwater cultural heritage, and natural environment
through the development of innovative research, teaching, tourism and
creative products
