The research takes place on a boat called Hercules, which is equipped with sophisticated multibeam sonar which sends sound waves through the water beneath the boat. By measuring the reflected soundwaves, the team can build a topographical map of the seafloor. To fill in the fine details, an autonomous underwater vehicle or AUV, developed with the University of Malta, travels closer to the bed and highlights any small anomalies on the seabed that might signal the site of a shipwreck.