A data capture framework for improving the quality of subsurface utility information

Abstract

To plan, develop, and manage underground space and make informed decisions leading to desirable outcomes, planners, land administrators, and engineers need to make sense of the underground. A reliable digital twin of the underground – a realistic, digital representation of the physical world below the surface – is required. Utilities, consisting of the pipes, ducts, cables, manholes and other assets that provide electricity, gas, water, sewerage, and telecommunication services, make up a significant portion of the shallow layers of the subsurface. A lack of reliable information on subsurface utilities may potentially lead to poor decisions leading to undesirable outcomes, lengthy and costly planning and land administration processes, and lengthy, costly, and hazardous development processes. The advent of mobile 3D ground penetrating radar technology offers the promise of non-destructive mapping of existing subsurface utilities in a large area in a relatively short amount of time and could potentially be used to improve the reliability of available information. In this work, a small number of cases studies are described at evaluating the feasibility of a large area mapping approach for subsurface utilities. Based on the results of the studies, a data capture framework for the gradual improvement of the quality of information on existing subsurface utilities is proposed.