Planning a Path for an Internet Cable between Two Points on the Surface of the Earth

Abstract

In this report the path of an internet cable between two geographical coordinates was designed with respect to various design considerations that may arise along its way. The two key design considerations are the costs and seismic resistance. Minimizing the path distance allows for a much cheaper installation of the cables, however the designer should also be wary about the earthquake prone areas which may damage the cables in the future. With the surface terrain represented in a 3D graph, the shortest path problem is solved using the Dijkstra's Algorithm by measuring the distance of every point. The earthquake prone zones are determined by the peak-ground-velocity (PGV) of every coordinate. Data of the earthquake was taken from the 'United States Geological Survey' (USGS); which contained data of the earthquake locations and magnitudes. The data of the magnitude is then used to calculate the PGV of every point in the graph. The results indicate that the cable path actively avoids the area with a history of heavy earthquakes. Although minimizing costs may be the number one priority. The potential of the cables being damaged must be considered. Cable damages, for the most part, is permanent. Thinking a step ahead may reduce repair costs and end up being more cost efficient.