Survex
Encyclopedia
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 visualization package.
Centreline data is entered using plain text files, which are processed by 'Cavern'. The text files contain a hierarchy of cave surveys, each of which consists of a list of survey legs, which join survey stations. This program calculates the real world coordinates of survey stations, taking into account loop closure errors using least-squares minimization. This processed data can then be visualised using a GUI front end called Aven. 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.
Survex was started in 1990 by Olly Betts and Wookey, and more recently Mark Shinwell has developed 'Aven'. Like most cave surveying software, the motivation for its creation arose from a particular surveying project - Cambridge University Caving Club's
explorations in Austria
.
Survex is currently being used in many large scale survey projects, across the world, for example: UK - Easegill,
Ogof Draenen,
Spain - Picos de Europa,
China,
Austria - Dachstein, Totes Gerbirge,
Indonesia,
Mulu
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
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
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, and Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
. Survex is very powerful cave survey software, and is actively developing into a complete cave visualization package.
Centreline data is entered using plain text files, which are processed by 'Cavern'. The text files contain a hierarchy of cave surveys, each of which consists of a list of survey legs, which join survey stations. This program calculates the real world coordinates of survey stations, taking into account loop closure errors using least-squares minimization. This processed data can then be visualised using a GUI front end called Aven. 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.
Survex was started in 1990 by Olly Betts and Wookey, and more recently Mark Shinwell has developed 'Aven'. Like most cave surveying software, the motivation for its creation arose from a particular surveying project - Cambridge University Caving Club's
Cambridge University Caving Club
The Cambridge University Caving Club was founded in 1949. The club organizes SRT training, social events, and weekend caving trips as well as longer expeditions.Currently, annual expeditions are carried out to the Ardèche region of France for sport...
explorations in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Survex is currently being used in many large scale survey projects, across the world, for example: UK - Easegill,
Ogof Draenen,
Spain - Picos de Europa,
China,
Austria - Dachstein, Totes Gerbirge,
Indonesia,
Mulu