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Technology for Mapping the Underground?

Posted by Cliff on from the getting-below-the-surface dept.

Archon-X asks: "As an avid CaveClanner, I spend my spare time sloshing around underground in drains, and have more than once considered 'mapping' the drains. How would readers approach this problem? Mobile reception and presumably GPS is non-existent, and it's pretty dark and wet down there."

2 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. Caving by mugnyte · · Score: 2, Interesting


    Depends what you're after. lots of string and a compass will give you distances and directions, used correctly.

    to measure the size of rooms, check with architect friends about measuring all dimensions of a space manually

    For crazy insane measurements of large caves, try surveyors tools.

    If you're posting this on /. i guessing you're searching for a computer-vision solution. Digital Rangefinder+Compass+Level = a lot of work to scan a space's distance from a certain spot. Might be neato, but I don't know anyting about that.

    mug

  2. MicroGPS? by fm6 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    What you need to do is reinvent GPS from scratch. You put transmitters at various cave entrances, and use the signal descrepancies to figure out where you are in relation to them -- which is exactly what satellite GPS does. Except I guess the lightspeed delay with be too small to measure. Sonar?

    Hmm, I guess re-inventing GPS technology would be very expensive. Never mind!