Mine surveying is at present undergoing a revolution with the possibility of fully automating survey tasks. This has become possible because of the introduction of automated systems of data measurement, acquisition, processing and plotting.
The field instrumentation required for automation is explained, together with an analysis of the results from numerous evaluation tests. A guide is given to the computer facilities necessary, both hardware and software, to achieve automation within the mine survey office.
Emphasis is given to the experiences and results obtained from the field applications investigated, including underground surveys and surface volumetric surveys. The efforts to automate subsidence monitoring are also covered.
The investigations have highlighted the overall increase in efficiency offered by such systems, and the possible future potential offered to the discipline is discussed
