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(version 2.03 of February 24, 2012)
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Palm OS 3.0-3.3
I am considering to raise the minimum required Palm OS version from 3.0 to 3.5 to alleviate code and improve overall efficiency. If you still use a device stuck at Palm OS version 3.0-3.3 (most likely a Palm IIIe), e-mail me
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Auriga is a cave survey freeware for PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) running under Palm OS. Auriga is designed for in-cave use as a smart survey notebook: as the survey goes, Auriga displays the line plot in graphical form, reports statistics, helps spot and fix survey errors and assists in sketching to scale. Bidirectional data exchange with Compass and Visual Topo is automatic.
The Auriga software is based on Martin Melzer's
original project
of creating a sensor box (electronic compass and clinometer)
coupled with a Palm OS software to automatically
acquire cave survey data. Although work on the hardware prototype stopped
in 2000, the Palm OS software development resumed in 2002 under the initiative of
Luc Le Blanc 
Since 2003, a conduit designed by
Christian Chénier 
has allowed the bidirectional exchange of survey data between Auriga and various cave survey PC software.
Auriga is extremely customizable (sessions, instruments sets, measurement units, calibrations, input
and display options, etc.) to cover the needs of the majority of cave surveyors.
Developed in Québec (Canada), Auriga is available in three languages.
Auriga users in the world 
(send me your location or mark it in blue on a copy of this image)
Why switch to Auriga?
Compared to a traditional paper notebook, Auriga:
- allows a paperless survey process (numeric and sketch data)
- offers more legible data
- reduces the risk of input error involved with transcribing notebook data into the main computer
- offers a data backup feature as cave data can be beamed between Palm OS devices via the infrared link
- allows the surveyor to get an immediate cave view while surveying, thus helping to detect gross errors
- speeds up the exploration process, cave statistics, gallery directions, positions, etc. being known in real time, without exiting the cave
Compared to a cave survey PC/Mac software, Auriga:
- runs on a low-cost Palm OS device that requires little battery power
- can be conveniently used underground
Does Auriga replace a cave survey PC/Mac software? No, instead it complements it! Survey data can be acquired on the Palm, viewed and used at the camp on the Palm and, once back home, transferred to the PC/Mac. This latter process can be done either with a cable (serial or USB, depending on both the Palm OS device and the PC/Mac capabilities) or via an infrared link.
Auriga can be used as:
- an electronic notebook to store numeric survey data while in the cave
- a scientific calculator to convert survey shots into Cartesian coordinates
- an electronic survey data backup device until getting back to the home base PC/Mac
- a display tool to view the cave (top view or profiles with pan, zoom and query features)
News
On-screen sketching
in Auriga 2.0!
See a 12' video of Auriga's most awaited feature
EuroSpeleoForum in Marbella (Málaga, Spain)
The EuroSpeleoForum will take place September 23-25, 2011 in Marbella. I shall give a talk on sketching in Auriga.
Course in Spain
Following an invitation by the Espeleo Club Resaltes and with the help of the Federación andaluza de espeleología, I shall give a class on September 26-27 in Murcia (Spain)
New Palm OS device
Aceeca, a New Zealand company that specialises in rugged PDAs, offers in Fall 2010 the PDA32.
199$ for this Palm TX equivalent (179$ + IR and Bluetooth options), but with a double capacity battery.
Read my trial report.
Toporobot?
Conduit 0.31 adds GH Topo support, a Windows software that uses Toporobot's data format. We now seek a programmer to adapt and compile the conduit for the Mac and thus support Toporobot/Mac.
DistoX
Auriga now offers Bluetooth support of the DistoX, a 3-in-1 survey device (distance, azimuth and slope). A Palm OS DistoX calibration program is also downloadable.
Auriga on TV
On October 13, 2008 at 20:00, Télé-Québec's Le Code Chastenay
scientific magazine featured a 5-minute report on Auriga and cave surveying we shot in June
in Saint-Casimir Cave.
DistoX
Interview
In Tam Hanna's Palm OS blog; learn the why's and how's of Auriga.
Pit Sounder
On May 10, 2007, we tested Auriga's Pit Sounder at Sima de Cabra (Córdoba, Southern Spain)
by throwing 10-15-cm rocks into this 116-m open-air pit.
By measuring the fall time (about 5 s),
Auriga estimated a depth varying between 114 and 117 m!