How AI and robotics are reconstructing a 2,000-year-old fresco in Pompeii

When we sit down to solve a jigsaw puzzle, there's always one thing we take for granted: the picture on the box. Without that point of reference, we'd be pulling our hair out, trying and failing to rebuild a jumbled pile of miscellaneous pieces. That's exactly what was happening in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, where over 10,000 fragmented pieces from 2,000-year-old frescoes have been lying around for decades, waiting for someone to solve the puzzle. Now, a team of scientists led by the Venice-based Italian Institute of Technology may have found a solution: train a robot to do it. A key part of the project will be teaching the algorithm how to study like an archeologist and think like a puzzle master.