Project Aims & Objectives

The Mapping the Underworld initiative’s Goals:

To make all stakeholders aware of what can be achieved with various geophysical techniques
To take the soil conditions into account when planning and interpreting data from various geophysical surveys
To develop a multi-sensor device capable of identifying all utilities
To ensure that, in future, no newly installed buried utility is invisible to geophysical utility location devices
To ensure that records of utility locations are as accurate as possible in three-dimensions
To make data accessible (in 3-D) and understandable to stakeholders
To allow all stakeholders to manage safety, financial, social and environmental risks associated with utility location data
To assess the condition of buried utilities using geophysics
To promote the use of trenchless technology

Aims of Current Research:

To research and develop both existing technologies and new techniques to improve the detection rate of buried utilities without the need for excavation.
To develop a prototype multi-sensor device
To fuse the data streams together to predict what is buried below the device
To understand the impact of soil conditions on the detection techniques.
To control the risks associated with installing or repairing buried assets.