Low-Cost 3D Reconstruction of Caves

Abstract

Caves are spatially complex environments, frequently formed by different shapes and structures. Capturing cave’s spatial complexity is often necessary for different purposes – from geological to biological aspects – but difficult due to the challenging logistics, frequent absence of light, and because the necessary equipment is prohibitively expensive. Efficient and low-cost mapping systems could produce direct and indirect benefits for cave users and policy-makers, enabling from non-invasive research of fragile structures (like speleothems) to new forms of interactive experiences in tourism, for example. Here we present a low-cost solution that combines hardware and software to allow capturing cave spatial information through RGB-D sensors and the later interpretation of the processed data. Our solution allows the navigation in a 3D reconstructed cave, and may be used to estimate volume and area information, frequently necessary for conservation or environmental licensing. We validated the proposed solution by partially reconstructing one cave in Northeastern Brazil. Although some challenges have to be overcome, our approach showed that it was possible to retrieve relevant information despite using low-cost RGB-D sensors.