Survey
and Cartography Section
of the National Speleological Society
Digital
Cave Surveying Presentations on Zoom
Cave surveying is transitioning from a manual process to one
incorporating various levels of modern technology to facilitate both
in-cave data collecting and sketching, and actually drawing cave maps
electronically.
The list below is for a series of Zoom presentations discussing
various aspects of digital cave surveying. The presentations were recorded and can be viewed with the YouTube links below.
Overview
of Paper vs. Electronic Book/Sketch for Cave Survey
Presenter: Bert Ashbrook
• Foundations: Start sketching on paper, or jump
right into digital?
• Is digital for you? Advantages (and disadvantages,
too!).
• Gear you’ll need.
• What to expect: Differences in cave survey team
operation.
• What to expect: Differences in bookkeeping and
sketch.
• What to expect: Differences in data management and
cartography. This presentation was recorded and is
available on YouTube athttps://youtu.be/_A0R5ebXzCY?si=ja4ernjchRTqrPn0
(recorded on March 27, 2025)
Digital
Sketching vs. Paper Sketching
Presenter: Derek Bristol
• Comparison of digital and paper sketching quality.
• Common issues with digital sketches (lack of
spatial awareness, artistic ability, etc.). This
presentation was recorded and is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ttwe6zcWPM
(recorded on April 9, 2025)
Data
and Sketch Preparation with Cave Survey Software and AI
Presenter: Aaron Bird
• Preparing data and sketches using Walls, Compass,
Topodroid, Illustrator, Python.
• Using AI (Claude Sonnet, ChatGPT) for cave survey
data. This
presentation was recorded and is available on YouTube athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUZL75BY-3Q
(recorded on April 24, 2025)
Paper
to Digital Transition
Presenter: Beau Gergel
• Lessons learned from transitioning from paper to
digital sketching.
• Using TopoDroid and Illustrator for post-processing
digital sketches. This presentation was recorded and is available on YouTube athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO0fDoJjlIk
(recorded on May 8, 2025)
Advanced
Topodroid Tips and Tricks
Presenter: Dane Garreau
• Advanced techniques and tips for using Topodroid
more effectively.
This presentation was recorded and is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3PdgJJ89gk
(recorded on June 5, 2025)
Project
Planning and Management
Presenter: Jon Zetterberg
• How to set standards before the project begins.
• Structuring data collection to ensure consistency
and organization.
This presentation was recorded and is available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Ws89tZ1r0
(recorded on June 19, 2025)
