Auriga is a Palm OS cave survey freeware designed for in-cave use as a smart and faithful survey notebook. With the Palm enclosed in a write-through protective pouch, data input is quick and easy; and a serial link is available to connect existing electronic data acquisition devices. As the survey goes, Auriga displays the line plot in graphical form, reports statistics, helps spot and fix survey errors and assists in sketching to scale.This flexible field tool can also be used on the surface to display cave networks and to correlate its data with a GPS, connected or not. Bidirectional data exchange with Compass and VisualTopo is automatic, and more PC/Mac targets are in the works. The software packs a wealth of features, is highly customizable, fully documented, well supported and available in 3 languages. With monthly releases, Auriga evolves rapidly, and keeps gaining adepts in expeditions worldwide.
The objective of this effort is to cooperatively develop, with the cave surveying community, an XML representation of cave survey data. The intent is to facilitate the recordation, transmission and storage of cave survey data in a form that increases its usefulness across the international cave surveying community. This site organizes discussion, background information, analysis, and proposals for an "open" solution to cave survey data in XML. It also offers links to XML news, tools and tutorials.
* integrates Vis5D and CAVE Libraries to provide interactive visualizations of time-varying, 3-dimensional data sets in an virtual environment,
* runs on projection-based Virtual Reality (VR) devices such as the CAVE and ImmersaDesk,
* supports the visualization of any Vis5d file,
uses simple ascii configuration files to specify graphical objects at runtime, and
* is fully described by a Users Guide.
CaveScript (sometimes I leave off the XML) is the generic name of a cave survey and map data format that could store all the information about a cave survey or an entire cave map. It is based on extensible markup language (XML). Here you will find example CaveScript files, utility programs and documentation including the Document Type Definitions (DTDs) and schemas that describe the language.
COMPASS is a software package designed to edit, process, analyze and view cave survey data using an IBM PC compatible computer. The programs in the system allow you to enter cave data, revise the data, generate statistics on the cave, close loops, view plots from various angles on the screen and finally, print finished quality plots on almost any of dot matrix, laser, ink jet printer and a variety of line plotters. COMPASS has hundreds of powerful features, including a configurable survey editor, high speed real-time 3D passage wall modeling, GIS and data base compatibility, sophisticated loop closure and blunder detection. COMPASS is extremely fast capable of animating of caves in excess of 150 miles in length. It is also very easy to use, with built-in wizards and tools that make it easy for novice users to manage and work with large cave systems. COMPASS will run on any modern version of Windows ranging from Windows 95 to Windows XP. COMPASS is constantly being refined to add new features and take advantage of the latest technologies.
GHTopo is a cave survey software fully compatible with TOPOROBOT.
Developed by a French handicapped caver.
GHTopo is under GPL license and exists for Windows and Linux (sources Free-Pascal, Delphi/Kylix included)
On Station is Cave Mapping Software for Windows 95,98, NT, and 2000. It can handle everything from the original data entry to plotting of the complete system. You can search through your data, perform complex error reductions, and rotate your system in three dimensions in real time. And all of this is delivered on top of an incredibly friendly and easy to use interface.
The RosettaStal is a companion program that converts data from other cave data formats to the new CDI format. CDI is an attempt to make a universally acceptable cave data format. This should make it easier to move your valuable data between programs without having to reenter everything.
Speleoliti is a powerfull and user-friendly software for spatial modelling. It is especially designed for speleological needs (cave mapping), but also suitable for other kind of geo-works. The program surely will delight you with some original solutions and options it can offer and some of them have to be mentioned especially: displaying up to 255 objects together from any perspective, constructing adaptabe extended profile with a possibility to remember the conformation, comfortable data entering into a standard and adaptable table, including options as copy, paste etc., editing the polar shots or cartesian coordinates, ability to accept underwater diving shots with depth instead inclination advanced polygon correction, deformation and discrepancy manipulation, calculating distance, planes and angles betwen stations, easy control of graphics by smooth motion, rotation and zoom, coloring lines, shapes, points and labels by depth, distance, objects, keywords, parameters, successivity etc., also possible to set switches for any single shot, loading and manipulating image backgrounds, surface grids and point-layers, printing in any scale to A4 or A3 paper, exporting graphics to raster .BMP format and vector .PDF and .SVG formats, compatibility with On-Station and Compass, data export to .SHP, .DXF, .XML, .OBJ, .CSV formats, and creating an interactive 3D web presentations. Speleoliti is at the moment available as slovenian and english version. If anyone volunteers to take over a translation to any other language, please conntact the author at matej@speleo.net. There are cca. 10 full pages of text to translate (or 3 pages without help manual). The program runs under Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / 2000 / NT / XP. Download now !!!
Survex is an open source cave-surveying software package, licensed under the GPL. It is designed to be portable and can be run on a variety of platforms, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix. Survex is very powerful cave survey software, and is actively developing into a complete cave visualisation package. It has a sophisticated GUI frontend. Survex has no arbitrary limits, and so is particularly good for large complicated cave systems, or areas where you need to see the relationships between multiple cave systems. Putting existing data into it should be easy. We welcome input from other surveyors on what features they need in Survex, or improvements to the way existing features work. We also encourage people to add their own functionality and send the code back to us for inclusion in the project. We want to make Survex a collaborative project amongst cave surveyors, and we must thank the many who have helped translate, test and improve it so far.
SURVEY CONVERTOR is looking a lot more primitive (it is an older DOS-program) but it hides a lot of power. You can use it to convert basic Survex files to Compass and/or Onstation format. It is not only useful to convert old files, but also if you use the basic textfile format as described in the help-file, you will be able to work with your survey-data in three different programs: Surves, Compass and Onstation.
Therion is a program for cave surveying. It produces maps and 3D models of caves or cave systems. It is free. It is multi-platform. It is fun. Unlike other cave-surveying programs it produces complete maps with all the detail.
Unlike other widely used general drawing programs it produces dynamic, always up-to-date maps — i.e. maps which you don't need to redraw after loop closure, blunder fix, scale or symbol set change.
Unlike other cave-surveying programs it creates 3D model based on 2D maps; LRUD centerline data are not needed. Therion is especially suitable for documenting large and complicated cave systems.
Toporobot est un systθme informatique dιveloppι en Suisse, qui il sert ΰ la mise en valeur des donnιes topographiques des cavitιs. Il facilite grandement la mise au propre des relevιs faits sous-terre et permet de rιaliser des reprιsentations graphiques impossibles avec les outils conventionnels. Il y a 20 ans Martin Heller crιait ses premier programmes d'ordinateur pour aider ses collθgues spιlιologues ΰ rιaliser les plans des grottes qu'ils exploraient ensembles. Depuis cette ιpoque il s'est attelι ΰ amιliorer, morceau par morceau, les possibilitιs de son logicielle et ΰ le mettre en oeuvre pour un nombre de plus en plus grand de cavitιs. Jusqu'ΰ il y a deux ans il fallait disposer d'un ordinateur puissant, tel que ceux dont disposent les instituts universitaires ou les grandes entreprises, pour pouvoir profiter des avantage de Toporobot. Ceci limitait malheureusement ΰ un petit nombre de privilιgiιs les spιlιologues qui y avaient accθs.
Tunnel is a Cave Survey program which extends the data format used by Survex by associating a realistic passage volume to the centreline survey. It has its own graphical editor and is able to produce output in VRML form. Current developments are working towards a ray-tracing algorithm to render grey-scale images that could in theory replace hand-drawn surveys, and stereolithography output so that an actual physical model of the cave could be built.
TunnelX is a complete program for drawing good quality cave surveys on a computer and sending them to any sized printer. It can distort the drawings to fit new survey data, as well as render realistic looking randomized boulder fields. TunnelX runs on the latest version of Sun's Java language. It is fully Copy-Lefted, Open-Sourced, GNU Public Licensed, and Free. It is yours to take home and keep and do with exactly as you please, except make less Free.
The basic information that we can collect underwater for survey is limited by the amount of time we can spend there. So a line survey is the most reasonable given the time constraint. First we lay a guideline through the cave system, this line not only serves as a guide to the exit, it also is our skeleton for our survey.
Visual Topo est un logiciel de topographie spιlιologique permettant ΰ partir des mesures effectuιes dans les cavitιs souterraines, de calculer et d'ιditer les topographies (plan, coupe, projections, etc ...). Il prend en compte la plupart des instruments de mesure utilisιs par les spιlιologues, ainsi que par les plongeurs. Les topographies peuvent κtre imprimιes ΰ l'ιchelle dιsirιe, par exemple au 1/1000 pour simplifier la partie manuelle du dessin de la topographie ou au 1/25000 pour un report sur une carte. Diffιrents formats de fichiers peuvent κtre exportιs, en particulier Excel 97 et PLT (fichiers compatibles avec le logiciel Compass de Larry Fish). Visual Topo peut ιgalement reprιsenter plusieurs cavitιs sur une mκme topographie dans le cas d'un rιseau ou pour avoir une vision globale d'un massif. Chaque cavitι restant indιpendante, toute modification d'une cavitι se rιpercute automatiquement sur le rιseau. Une topographie de surface peut κtre associιe ΰ la cavitι ou au rιseau, de faηon ΰ reprιsenter la surface sour forme de courbes de niveau ou de maillage 3D.
Tools for Cave Survey Data Management. The Walls download site is hosted by the Texas Speleological Survey and is currently under construction. Additional program information, along with a link to the most recent Walls build, will normally be available at the TSS Web site.
Welcome to WinKarst, home of the best software for the study and mapping of caves. Windows '98, 2000 and XP are supported, complete with context sensitive help and printable online manual. It is available to download for your evaluation as shareware. WinKarst can read data created with other cave mapping programs and has been tested with a wide variety of cave surveys. WinKarst's Help File is available in PDF format for easy printing or online. Read the release notes for version 12.3. The program enables the user to visualize the cave in three dimensional space and provide information as to the quality of the survey. The user can display, print and export to other computer applications various representations of the cave. WinKarst is undoubtedly the easiest and most powerful software available to map caves.
Xara XΉ is illustration and drawing software, favored by some of the world's best artists for its speed, versatility and ease of use. It's great for web graphics (all of xara.com has been designed using Xara X) as well as incredibly detailed illustrations—you simply would not believe this art was created with vector illustration software. (please read also the next entry: Xarax Cave Maps)
Digital cave maps are now easier to draw than ever before. It appears almost everyone
has a computer these days and there are a myriad of graphic programs available everywhere.
I feel that Xara X is the cave cartographers dream come true. Xara X must be the
most powerful, lowest costing, most intuitive, graphics drawing program out there with
results far easier to obtain than with the other big programs. It brings the reluctant pen and ink cartographer into the digital age for a mere $150.00 and a copy of this free tutorial.
(this is a pdf file showing how to make cave maps using Xarax).
The DEM files may be used in the generation of graphics such as isometric projections displaying slope, direction of slope, and terrain profiles between designated points. They may also be combined with other data types such as stream locations and weather data to plan forest fire control, or with remote sensing data to classify vegetation. Many non-graphic applications such as modeling terrain gravity data for use in locating energy resources, determining the volume of proposed reservoirs, calculating the amount of material removed during strip mining, and determining landslide probability have also been developed.
Carto is a tool for making cave maps. Carto has two main parts. One is a mechanism for warping digitized sketches to fit the survey data, and combining them to form a composite. The other is a CAD program designed specifically for drawing cave maps.
GeoMag is a very simple program to use. Data items can be directly typed into any of the white fields, except the Datum and Continents. These items must be selected from a fixed number of predefined choices in drop down lists. For each of the data fields, the up/down arrow on their sides will increment or decrement the value in the field. Whenever a data item changes, the dependent fields will change according to the parameters of the
conversion. For example, changing a Longitude will change the X/Y UTM coordinates and zone, based on the new Longitude and the old Latitude. The UTM Convergence, Magnetic Declination and the Bearing Compass will always be updated for changes in position and time.
GPS Tuner is a high precision measurement, mapping and geocaching tool for Pocket PC. You are able to record high precision waypoints (even sub-meter) thanks to the averaging technique. GPS Tuner provides flexible management of waypoints, geocaching files, tracks and routes. GIF, JPG, PNG or BMP files can be used as maps. With Digital Compass you can easily navigate to a waypoint or walk along a route. Save, modify, import or export waypoints with GPS Tuner. Defining custom picture, sound or video to your waypoint is just a click! You can also share your waypoint file with your friends, because GPS Tuner supports the common GPS Data Exchange Format: GPX. Your recorded track contains several important information such as: Current speed, Max speed, Average speed, Vertical speed, Altitude, Max altitude, Min altitude, Climb, Descent, Length, Total time and Moving time. You are able to record all the GPS signals during your trip in a raw NMEA file and you can also play back your journey later.
Commonly referred to as GRASS, this is a Geographic Information System (GIS) used for geospatial data management and analysis, image processing, graphics/maps production, spatial modeling, and visualization. GRASS is currently used in academic and commercial settings around the world, as well as by many governmental agencies and environmental consulting companies.
Odgps is a little program for Pocket PCs that lets you navigate in any terrain using GPS. It is intended to be small and light and easy to use. Odgps does not use maps since they are complicated to use, mostly expensive and make the program heavy. You can hardly read digital maps on tiny PDA displays outdoor anyways. I prefer using Odgps to navigate and get out an ancient paper map occasionally if satellite reception is bad, batteries die or some other hazard disturbs high technology.
Interactive, map based, trip planning and moving map software for PC computers. Interfaces with your GPS. OziExplorer allows you to work with maps on the computer screen that you create from scanned or digital maps. Ideal for planning trips for boating, 4 wheel driving, flying, hiking etc and as a real time navigation aid. OZI Explorer is a GPS Mapping Software which runs on your PC or laptop and will work with Magellan, Garmin, Lowrance, Eagle, Brunton/Silva and MLR GPS receivers for the upload/download of waypoints, routes and tracks and most brand of GPS receivers for real time tracking of GPS position (Moving Map).
Package for profile analysis of XRD peaks. features: profile fitting, single line and multiple order methods for determination of crystallite size and lattice strain, includes Fourier methods, reads many XRD file formats and writes some of the major formats, zoom
save and restore individual fit sessions
deleting of peak from the XRD trace, drag&drop
Digital methodologies for creating maps have come a long way over the last few years, but I noticed that there was still large room for improvement in many areas. I was working on an ongoing survey project, and desired to have an 'up to the minute' map. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to follow somewhat of a convoluted process. First, I would need to type the data into Compass software for processing. Next, I would have to create a bitmap image of the plot to import into Adobe Illustrator. This plot bitmap would then have to be correctly placed and scaled inside of Illustrator. Every time I added any new survey, this would need to be performed. It was getting a bit cumbersome to say the least! So I decided to create a plug-in for Adobe Illustrator (v9) that would import Compass format data files directly into the artwork. This plug-in is named Cave Illustrator, and runs natively inside the window of Illustrator. I allows the plotting and selection of survey information of both plan and profile views. Further, you can update the plot without having to reposition or rescale the rest of the data. This speeds the time to create digital maps significantly.
If dark and mysterious caverns are your cup of tea, then check out this screen saver created, no doubt, by an avid spelunker. - Shareware: 14-day trial
SPELEOBASE is a modern and powerful Windows program that lets you build a database with caves. Nothing new, you might think? But yes, this is something different! This database has been especially designed for cave-explorers, and makes it possible to manage all caves and cave-related files from one central starting point! You can search in SpeleoBase, sort and filter on different criteria, print out caves and even email them. The philosophy is this: starting with the cave record that you are working with, you should be able to access and open any image, survey, document or even videoclip that is related to this cave. Without leaving SpeleoBase!
