High-risk underground safety prototype in 48 hours

In a 48-hour hackathon, Monash University students created a wearable tracking and navigation system for high-risk underground settings such as caves and mines. The solution, called Antrum, sees its user strap a palm-sized device to the leg before entering underground environments where external signals such as GPS or standard radio waves cannot penetrate through solid rock to cover the distance.

Antrum seeks to bridge the gap by using a technique called Dead Reckoning paired with zero velocity updates (ZUPT). To continuously calculate the user’s relative position, leg-mounted motion sensors track footsteps, allowing the system to track and record a route even when all external communication signals fail. Antrum includes a web dashboard, Antrum Dash, which records movement data during use.

Image credit: Monash University

Once users return to the surface, the data uploads to the cloud, allowing them to review and analyse their route. The fully functional proof-of-concept, complete with integrated hardware, software, electronics and a 3D-printed casing, was developed during UNIHACK 2026 — where Antrum won first prize. The students are now hoping to develop a waterproof version that could support underwater cave divers.

​“We were inspired by the story of the Thai youth soccer team cave rescue and wanted to explore whether technology could help prevent people from becoming stranded in the first place,” said Maria Demina, project team member and a third-year Bachelor of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering student. You can learn more about Antrum at devpost.com/software/antrum-mk-1.

Top image credit: iStock.com/Olga Kostrova. Stock image used is for illustrative purposes only.