Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images/ YouTube/Ancient Architects
Topics: Technology, Robotics, World News
Jen Thomas
Topics: Technology, Robotics, World News
The leap forward in technology over the last few years has unlocked a whole world of knowledge for us when it comes to exploring historical sites.
Now, a robot camera has provided a never-seen-before view of one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Pyramid Of Giza.
Until now, historians and archaeologists had been limited by areas of the pyramid being unreachable to humans.
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Some areas of the legendary structure have been too small for humans to access, but that has all changed now thanks to the development of tech.
Archaeologists found a narrow shaft which is at a 40 degree angle, and only measures 20cm by 20cm, so there was no way humans could access it, as it extends some 60 meters.
In 2011, a team of researchers and scientists set the ball rolling to develop a robot which could film inside the mysterious part of the pyramid.
It was called 'The Djedi Project, and teams from the University of Leeds in the UK worked with Dassault Systèmes in France.
Professor Rob Richardson is part of the robotics team, and he explained how creating the technology was far from easy, taking almost five years to complete.
He said: "This design was certainly challenging. The robot had to be extremely lightweight - and in the end we got it down to 5kg.
"Because it was so light, it did not require a lot of power - in the end, the challenges started to become opportunities.
"We developed a system that moved the robot very gently through the passageway."
The team were successful in their goal, and managed to film a whopping nine hours of raw footage.
To their delight, the robot camera finally unlocked some of the secrets which had never been seen before.
"About 50 meters along the shaft - several meters before what we think is the end, there is a stone put in place to block further access," said Professor Richardson.
"We do not know what that stone is blocking access to. We were able to get a camera past the stone - it revealed a small chamber with intricate symbols painted on the floor."
This discovery means the team are now convinced that the shaft 'served a bigger purpose than act as an air vent'.
The real purpose for it is still unknown so far, but there are hopes that as technology continues to develop even further there will be more discoveries to come.