Hi Donald,

This seems like a very interesting proposition to me. The difficulty is that we need a much larger space. The idea isn't to conduct a test but to propose a sustainable solution. I have the impression that it's a data storage service only. We should be able to allow the visualization of this data: there are free license applications that are very interesting, but as you say, storage is the most difficult point. Either we find an organization that offers us storage, or we find the financing. It costs $0.15/GB/year if we want data that's always accessible in a few milliseconds, but we can also have storage where the data is accessible in a few hours for $0.05/GB/year. We could imagine a service that allows us to archive data and view it for a limited time, then store this data in a less expensive space. Could we imagine starting with 10 TB or $1,500? But with a solution to scale to 100 TB for $7,500 (using less expensive storage)?

Frédéric

Donald, we talked about providing a photogrammetry/3D service. Could you

find a location and funding?

As we discussed, the challenge is finding or creating an accessible repository for the very large datasets that 3D Lidar scanning produces - let's say 2 -3 GB for a large cave project. The situation is akin to that in astronomy, where new technologies produce enormous datasets. I do not think that UIS would want to fund and support such a database; my short-term solution is to suggest that we use the Harvard "dataverse" which would allow us to archive files up to 2.5GB , to a maximum of 1 TB (ie. several hundred scanned caves).

https://dataverse.harvard.edu/

Thoughts?

Don

Le mar. 26 août 2025 à 19:21, Frédéric Urien [email protected] a écrit :

Hello everyone,

We just completed a project that was a complete success: two students enabled automatic exchange between documentation centers. Today, I'd like us to prepare a project for 2026.

Here's some useful information:

• The Wikicaves association has good relations with the Montpellier

Polytech school, which trains high-performing students.

• It's possible to offer them a four-month internship from April 15th to

August 15th, with a salary of €3,000.

• They can receive an Erasmus grant; otherwise, transportation and

accommodation must be funded.

If we launch a new project for 2026, the Wikicaves association can take care of signing the agreement, paying the student(s), and, if Benjamin and Vincent still agree, providing technical support for their work.

We would need to choose a theme and a venue together, and consider funding. Ideally, we should submit a proposal between September and December 2025.

What we propose is that the project leverages Grottocenter's technical infrastructure, so many services already exist. Vincent must implement a new search engine and develop a tool to manage sensor data. We are considering inviting a group of students to work on automatic document analysis as part of a project (December 2025 to February 2026). This project is not funded.

Ferdinando, you mentioned the possibility of working on collecting bio-caving data from Mexico. Is this something that could be implemented? Funded?

Donald, we talked about providing a photogrammetry/3D service. Could you find a location and funding?

Loran, Luca, you hosted students this year. Would you be interested in returning for another project?

Clement, in the context of your discussions with the NSS, can you discuss this possibility?

I suggest you all respond. It's possible to launch several projects, provided they are funded. The Wikicaves association has no financial resources.

Frédéric