A WILD T1600, a sophisticated tool used for geodesic surveying. It features conventional optical sighting techniques coupled with an infrared transmitter/receiver to allow accurate measurement of distances and angles. The readings are temporarily stored on a built-in computer; later they can be downloaded onto a central computer which collates and interprets all the data to produce a map. Here, the measurements are being collected as a prelude to a full seismic survey - commissioned by an oil company - of a region in the Libyan desert.