contrib:complimentarycaveapps

Complementary Cave Processing Applications

In Cave Mapping

Auriga

  • Author: Luc Le Blanc
  • Version: 2.04 of June 18, 2012
  • Platform: Palm OS 3.0 or better
  • Program language: EN, FR
  • Program manual lang.: EN, FR
  • Link: Auriga page

PocketTopo

  • Author: Beat Heeb
  • Version: 1.37 Oct./04/2012
  • Platform: Windows Mobile
  • Program language: EN, GE, FR, PO, SI
  • Program manual lang.: EN, GE, CZ+SK, ES
  • Disto X manual lang.: EN, GE, FR, IT, PL, HU, CZ+SK, ES
  • Link: PocketTopo page

A nice little application that, once you've obtained a cave proof PDA and DistoX, allows you to do away with the simple, foolproof, pencil and paper - compass clino tape, and rely instead on batteries and the vagaries of recalcitrant hardware and software.

Once successfully used, it's hard to go back.

Why use PocketTopo?

  1. Windows based, runs on PDA and desktop devices.
  2. If you tend to use one or two distoXs per device (but not at one time).
  3. Relatively simple interface with just about enough features, and few bugs. Stable, but could do with an update.
  4. The original paperless survey application by the designer of DistoX
  5. Quick cave sketching with no need to consider scraps, Therion or final presentation.
    In the cave, quickly sketch over your survey centreline in one large drawing.
  6. ‘Drawing’ options include only the colour of lines (directly accessed from the drawing screen – one tap to change) and comments attached to survey legs.
  7. See in real time the survey network for all previous survey trips to the cave. Easily managed as all files in a folder are assumed to be part of the same cave.
  8. Semi-automated export to Therion (via TopParser) and a somewhat tedious alternative manual export method. Both methods require manual edits to survey th files, but not to drawing th2 files (because th2 files are nominally empty).
  9. Later with XTherion, your PocketTopo sketch is a background to trace over, while you consider how best to create scraps over it, with an awareness of the entire survey to date.
  10. Original sketches are always visible for direct comparison with the current state of cartography (in XTherion).

Follow the links to these pages to find out more.

—-

SexyTopo

https://github.com/richsmith/sexytopo/tree/master/app/release

The SexyTopo cave and underground surveying app for Android. Next-gen surveying with a sexy interface. It interfaces with a Disto-X and builds up a model of the cave. It provides a sketching environment for the cave surveyor to collect the details, and exports all the information to Therion, Survex, Compass, text (PocketTopo Therion) and SVG.

Why use SexyTopo?

  1. Android based, will run on your phone. Modeled after PocketTopo.
  2. If you tend to use one or two distoXs per device (but not at one time).
  3. You want better survey software. Experimental beta, although developing rapidly. A few rough edges yet to iron out. A responsive author.
  4. Quick cave sketching with no need to consider scraps, Therion or final presentation.
    In the cave, quickly sketch over your survey centreline in one large drawing.
  5. ‘Drawing’ options include lines and text in 8 colours (directly accessed from the drawing screen – one tap to change) and comments attached to survey stations.
  6. See in real time the survey network for all previous survey trips to the cave.
  7. Files all stored in a single folder, so you need a snappy naming convention to keep track of your files.
  8. Semi-automated export to Therion ready to compile as a stand alone trip survey. Requires manual edits to survey th files, but not to drawing th2 files (because th2 files are nominally empty).
  9. Later with XTherion, your SexyTopo sketch is a background to trace over, while you consider how best to create scraps over it, with an awareness of the entire survey to date.
  10. Original sketches are always visible for direct comparison with the current state of cartography (in XTherion).

Follow the links to these pages to find out more.

—-

TopoDroid

  • Author: Marco Corvi
  • Version: 4.1.1 Nov. 20, 2018
  • Platform: Android - 4.1 and above (2.2 and above, with old versions)
  • Program language: EN
  • Translations: BG, CN, DE, ES, FR, HU, IT, PT, PL, RO, RU, SK, UA (FA, SL un-maintained)
  • User manual lang.: EN (translations: ES, FR, IT, RU)
  • Link: TopoDroid page

TopoDroid is an Android app for cave surveying, preferibly with a DistoX. Survey data are stored in a SQLite database, and can be exported in Compass, Survex, Therion, VisualTopo, Wall and several other formats.

Sketches are saved in a native binary format. They can be exported in Therion, cSurvey, SVG, DXF and PNG formats. The sketch canvas has a three-level grid, legs, splays, and stations to help drawing. TopoDroid uses cave iconic symbols (points), lines, and areas as in Therion.

TopoDroid can be used to calibrate a DistoX.

Why use TopoDroid?

  1. Android based, will run on your phone
  2. If you tend to use two or more DistoXs per device (but not necessarily at one time)
  3. Better calibration management and analysis
  4. Dark themed display is easier on your eyes and on batteries
  5. Mature application, and still evolving, has a responsive author. Large user base.
  6. So many features, and you have learnt enough about them to know what you are doing!
  7. Auto detection of bad shots (magnetic anomaly or shaking the device)
  8. Symbolic drawing. What you sketch in the cave can be nearly ready for final presentation.
  9. In the cave, sketch over your survey centreline in one large drawing, or multiple sketches.
  10. Just like Therion, drawing options include points, lines and areas that are assigned properties (for example wall, stalactite, water).
    Drawing options are accessed via toolbar, at least two taps, often three, to select a new tool.
  11. See in real time the survey network for the current survey session only.
    All previous surveys to the cave be viewed using ThManager and Cave3D.
  12. You consider the final map cartography and modelling, either while you are sketching in the cave, or at least prior to exporting the sketches for Therion.
    ie will the debris floor be modelled with points, lines or an area? Where will scraps start and stop, in plan, in elevation? What plan rotation will be used and how might that affect symbol and label placement?
    It is often easier to edit existing sketches in TopoDroid than it is in XTherion.
  13. Careful selection of TopoDroid parameters is required to get a well posed XTherion drawing.
  14. Semi-automated export to Therion. Sketches can either be exported directly to ‘almost finished’ drawing th2 files or as an xvi background sketch (similar to PocketTopo) that the user can use as a background reference to trace over, or both at once!
  15. Original sketches can be visible, if you export xvi format, for direct comparison with the current state of cartography (in XTherion).

For more detail, refer to the TopoDroid page

Qave

  • Author: Pauline Piechowiak (Svist)
  • Version: 2.4.1 May 10, 2023
  • Platform: Android - 4.0 and above
  • Program language: EN
  • Translations:
  • Video manual lang.: EN
  • Link: Qave page
  • Compatible hardware: DistoX 2, BRIC4, CaveSniper

Simple application significantly speeds up the surveying process by automatically downloading DistoX, DistoX BLE, BRIC5, Shetland Attack Pony or CaveSniper measurements. In addition, it provides a built-in image editor for sketching plans and sections.

Tutorials (by Derek Bristol): https://youtu.be/YAzZese3ie4

- Settings and File Management: https://youtu.be/o6Al1_2YSJI
- Survey Data Management: https://youtu.be/Wd4HiPf1tsw
- Sketching: https://youtu.be/9O3qwxf9hGs
- Data and Sketch Export: https://youtu.be/Rkg9Z3nWQ8M

Features:
- connecting to DistoX, DistoX BLE, BRIC5, Shetland Attack Pony, CaveSniper via bluetooth
- calibration of DistoX. - measurements processing
- measurements preview
- sketching
- saving measurements as a text file
- exporting measurements to a .svg file
- manually adding measurements

DistoX Tools

  • dxtool (Mateusz Golicz) also Inkscape and PocketTopo utilities, and a Sino-polish-english dictionary of caving terms

Other Applications

Cave Converter

The Cave Converter tool converts between various cave survey file formats. Primarily to enable users of DistoX devices to get their existing data into PocketTopo, and their new survey data out of PocketTopo and into Survex format.

Source code available under GNU GPLv3 license.

Some minor bug fixes in this January 2013 release:

  • PocketTopo trip comments are now supported.
  • Survex files can now contain more than 26 splays per station without containing invalid characters.
  • When run on Windows, output files will now have Windows style line endings.

Bug reports and requests to support other formats always welcomed.

Shell script to create .th and .th2 files from survey sketches

Create therion templates for scanned survey notes, decreasing the amount of time necessary for doing the mundane job of creating plan, profile, and cross-section scraps for each scanned page of survey.

This script relies on imagemagick's display program, so as long as you have display and can run shell scripts, the script should run. I've only used/tested it on Fedora, but I imagine it will run on a mac without difficulty. It's possible you could get it to run in windows if you have a decent shell available.

The script is far from perfect and still has plenty of rough edges, so feel free to comment and suggest changes if you feel compelled to.
Jonny Prouty

Survex

If installed on a machine running therion, then by default 'survex' survey processing is used, which may yeild a survey network shape slightly different to the 'therion' network due to differences in loop closures. It also echos some additional useful information to the therion.log file

It's viewer Aven is an alternative to Therions Loch. The .3d files are very fast to export, and Aven is quite refined and it is easy to interrogate survey and map elements, but many of Loch's features are not supported/exported yet.

You can export both maps and models from Therion in .3d format. The 'map' outputs provide a nice quick way of visualising scraps and scrap names in a 3d viewer, whereas the 'model' outputs produce a wire-frame.

PHP Class framework to produce Therion Files

A PHP class framework for therion file structures. Originally created to export data in therion format from the Austrian SPELIX cave data system.

Some days ago I released the second public release (0.2.0) with basic centreline and survey support and (I think) all important structures present (however not all of them do something right now, thus the alpha state). The rabbit example is parsable and writable again with core features (like centreline).

TopoLinux

TopoLinux is a suite of caving programs including;

  • QTopoShot and QTopoCalib: utilities to manage data from DistoX. Developed on Linux, but should be portable to Windows (tested) and Mac OS X (not tested).
  • TopoDroid: to survey and draw map in cave using DistoX Android device as above
  • Cave3D: to view centrelines in 3D (only Therion format) (Android)

QTopoShot (QTshot) is part of the QTopo programs for the DistoX. It is designed as DistoX-frontend to Therion, and handles a single survey at a time. With QTshot one gets the centerline data from the DistoX, and draws the scraps. Survey data are saved in a custom format (plain text), and can be exported in Therion format as a .th file. Scraps are saved in Therion format as .th2 files. QTshot can export the survey data also in Survex, Compass, and PocketTopo format. Import PocketTopo files (surveys and drawings).

TopParser

TopParser provides an alternative method of converting PocketTopo files to Therion Files.

TopParser takes a PocketTopo *.top binary file and produces a set of Therion text files to represent;

  • the survey centreline
  • a drawing file for each projection you choose complete with;
    • background images
    • empty pre-named scraps for each projection and each cross section present in the *.top file.

The Therion files can be automatically named and inserted into your existing survey dataset.

therionsurface2survex

Produce a surface mesh to be able to take mesurements between surface and cave.

therionsurface2survex takes a therion source file containing a surface mesh (`surface … grid … endsurface`) and converts it into a survex .swx file. This can be compiled by `cavern` into a survex .3d file, which may be combined with your cave's 3d-file. This allows for example to take distance measurements between cave tunnels and the surface.

Since Version 1.0, the program supports also GDAL ASCII grid files as input and therion centerline format as output. This allows to directly parse ASCII height data into a surface mesh directly usable by therion.

Compass2Therion converter

It translates data from Compass format (*.dat) to the format used by Therion (*.th).

Survex2Therion converter

It translates data from Survex format (*.svx) to the format used by Therion (*.th).

Written for the data set I was managing, not a comprehensive converter, hopefully it will be a useful starting point for other people wishing to convert from Survex format to Therion.

To use run this script in your root directory of the data set.

Remove empty lines and areas

Therion editor did (still can?) leave empty lines or areas, that have been reported to cause problems. This command line pipe removes these

  • Author: Andrew Atkinson
  • Platform: Linux CLI

This script was written for a specific data set. It has not been tested beyond, it is placed here as a starting point for others. Warning, this script modifies files without confirmation, backing up data before use is strongly recommended. 

grep -rnIH -A 1 "^area " * |grep endarea|tac|awk -F- '{system("sed -i " $2-1 "," $2 "d '''" $1 "'''")}'

The above works for areas, substitute line and endline to also do areas. It is strongly recommended that the pipe is built up one step at a time to check it works on the data set. Below is an explanation of each step with known problems indicated. 

grep -rnIH -A 1 "^area " *

Lists all lines in files with the 'area' as first word followed by a space plus the next line. If your files are indented this may not work, the ^ can be removed, but if the endarea has a space after, this with break the rest. 

grep endarea

From the above list only the lines that contain endarea 

tac

Reverses the order. When the lines area removed it is done by line number, so have to go from the end of the file otherwise susequent lines will have changed number. 

awk -F- '{system("sed -i " $2-1 "," $2 "d '''" $1 "'''")}'

Deletes the lines, the -i just does it, removing the -i dumps it to screen, without changing the file

  • contrib/complimentarycaveapps.txt
  • Last modified: 12 months ago
  • by sluka