Abstract: Known georeferencing techniques require input in the form of manually-chosen anchor points or dense surveyed data. The present invention is an improved method and system for georeferencing underground geometric data. The method comprises (a) visiting at least two control points; (b) obtaining information about each of the at least two control points using scanning means; (c) recording the information about the at least two control points into a computer processor; and (d) performing a best-fit transformation to the recorded information. Preferably, the scanning means comprises laser scanners and at least two radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. However, other technologies, such as retro-reflective LIDAR targets, Wi-Fi access points or bar codes and a bar code reader may also be used. In addition, sonar, radar, flash LIDAR, MEMS LIDAR, or any other similar technology could be used.

Abstract: Known georeferencing techniques require input in the form of manually-chosen anchor points or dense surveyed data. The present invention is an improved method and system for georeferencing underground geometric data. The method comprises (a) visiting at least two control points; (b) obtaining information about each of the at least two control points using scanning means; (c) recording the information about the at least two control points into a computer processor; and (d) performing a best-fit transformation to the recorded information. Preferably, the scanning means comprises laser scanners and at least two radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. However, other technologies, such as retro-reflective LIDAR targets, Wi-Fi access points or bar codes and a bar code reader may also be used. In addition, sonar, radar, flash LIDAR, MEMS LIDAR, or any other similar technology could be used.