Press Kit
Last updated: 28 July 2026
This page collects the press materials for 3D Cave Viewer: a ready-to-publish press release, a background article on the project’s context, a fact sheet, key numbers, and contacts for interview requests or high-resolution images.
Press release
For immediate release
Gubbio’s caves step into the browser, in 3D and with nothing to install
An open source project by the CAI Gubbio caving group “Buio Verticale” makes 3D cave surveys explorable online, virtual reality included. With 3D Cave Viewer, developed by Davide Brugnoni, a browser is enough to step into a real cave, move through it like a caver, or experience it in virtual reality with a simple headset. The project addresses a still-unsolved problem: how to share 3D cave surveys online - increasingly common thanks to smartphone LiDAR - with people who aren’t cavers. It will be publicly presented at the caving gathering in Costacciaro in November 2026, when the source code becomes accessible to everyone on GitHub.
“We realised we were all surveying with our iPhones, but we couldn’t share the results in a simple, intuitive way, or make them public for people who are curious but aren’t cavers.” - Davide Brugnoni, project author
Download the full press release (DOCX)
The full text also includes background on Buio Verticale and the complete fact sheet.
Background article
Step into a cave from your browser
How smartphone LiDAR is changing cave surveying, and why sharing the results online is still an unsolved problem.
A background article covers the context 3D Cave Viewer comes from: the spread of smartphone LiDAR surveying among caving groups, its limits compared with professional scanners (with reference to a 2025 study in the Journal of Archaeological Science), the still-unsolved problem of sharing surveys online - between commercial platforms like Sketchfab and Matterport and technical viewers like Potree - and how 3D Cave Viewer tries to fill that gap.
Who it is for
- Caving groups and CAI sections
- Researchers and geologists
- Schools and outreach programmes
- Press and communication
Download the full article (DOCX)
Fact sheet
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project name | 3D Cave Viewer |
| Author | Davide Brugnoni |
| Organisation | Buio Verticale Caving Group - CAI Gubbio |
| Type | Progressive Web App (PWA), open source |
| Licence | GNU GPL v3 |
| Technologies | PHP, Three.js (WebGL), Leaflet/OpenStreetMap, WebXR |
| Supported 3D formats | GLB, GLTF, OBJ |
| Interface languages | Italian, English, French, Spanish |
| Website | 3dcaveviewer.com |
| Public demo | buioverticale.it/3d |
| Repository | github.com/davide-brugnoni/3DCaveViewer - accessible from November 1, 2026 |
| Press contact | davide.brugnoni [at] gmail [dot] com |
The project in numbers
| Number | What it represents |
|---|---|
| 3 | exploration modes: orbit, first person, virtual reality |
| 4 | interface languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish |
| 6 | preset orthogonal views of the model |
| 3 | supported 3D formats: GLB, GLTF, OBJ |
| 0 | installations required to use it |
| 100% | open source code, GNU GPL v3 licence |
Media
Official photographic materials (screenshots, field photos) are in preparation and will be added to this page. In the meantime, two demo videos of the exploration modes are already available:
Additional screenshots can be generated live directly from the application, for any published cave: just open the demo and use the built-in PNG export.
Press contacts
For interviews, further information requests, high-resolution images or a demonstration of the viewer, write to: davide.brugnoni [at] gmail [dot] com.
- Official website: 3dcaveviewer.com
- Public demo: buioverticale.it/3d
- Group: buioverticale.it
- Repository: github.com/davide-brugnoni/3DCaveViewer (from November 1, 2026)