Tunnelling is a key activity in infrastructure projects, mine development and production. The speed of tunnelling has always been important, especially in underground constructions where the profit is often linked to “how fast the job can be done”. Even if the speed always remains in focus, it is important to realise that modern technique and equipment for tunnelling can offer additional options such as characterisation of the surrounding rock masses and rock ahead of the face. This paper presents the State of the Art in drill monitoring of tunnelling rigs and discusses the technology and analysis used for drill parameters and presents some interesting results of rock mass characterization through international case studies.