Automated Land Spraying Control System for Drilling Waste
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for disposing of drilling waste through land spraying lack effective control and compliance with regulations, particularly in avoiding sensitive areas and maintaining accurate spray patterns, leading to potential environmental hazards and non-compliance due to reliance on human operators and inadequate environmental safeguards.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for controlled spraying using a vehicle-mounted navigation unit, speed indicator, and actuator-controlled valve to ensure that drilling waste is sprayed only outside exclusion zones and at a predetermined rate, utilizing a control unit to determine spatial coordinates and automate the spraying process, thereby reducing human error and enhancing compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual visual inspection and communication with technician are used to avoid spraying outside approved zones, then operational simplicity is maintained, but compliance reliability deteriorates due to human error, weather conditions, and poor visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection and human judgment with an automated optical guidance system that uses cameras, processors, and display devices to provide real-time visual feedback to the operator. This substitution of mechanical/human sensing with automated optical systems eliminates human error while maintaining ease of operation through intuitive visual displays showing approved zones, exclusion zones, and spray path guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback by capturing real-time images of the terrain, processing them to identify approved and excluded zones, and displaying this information to the operator during spraying operations. The feedback loop includes real-time monitoring of spray application rates and automatic adjustment recommendations, ensuring compliance while maintaining operational simplicity.
2Reliability
If automated control systems with navigation units and actuators are implemented to ensure regulatory compliance, then compliance reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system integrates multiple functions into a single integrated platform: terrain mapping, exclusion zone identification, real-time spray rate monitoring, navigation guidance, and compliance reporting are all combined in one system. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate devices and systems, managing complexity while enhancing compliance reliability through coordinated operation of all functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs automatic functions including real-time image processing to identify zones, automated calculation of spray rates based on terrain and weather conditions, self-monitoring of compliance parameters, and automatic generation of reports. This self-service capability reduces the need for manual intervention and external equipment while maintaining high compliance reliability.
3Measurement precision
If technician physically scouts and assesses land suitability before spraying, then measurement precision of land conditions is improved, but loss of time increases due to manual scouting and mapping processes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary automated mapping and assessment of the terrain using satellite imagery, aerial photographs, and ground-based sensors before spraying operations begin. Exclusion zones are pre-identified and marked on digital maps, and spray paths are pre-planned based on terrain analysis. This preliminary action maintains high measurement precision while significantly reducing the time required during actual spraying operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual scouting and physical land assessment by technicians is replaced with automated remote sensing technologies including satellite imagery, aerial photography, LiDAR, and ground-based scanners. These systems rapidly capture and process terrain data with high precision, eliminating the time-consuming manual assessment process while maintaining or improving measurement accuracy through advanced image processing and analysis algorithms.
4Productivity
If manual mapping of sprayed areas is performed after disposal, then compliance reporting is achieved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to impairment by rain, snow, and agricultural activities
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors and records spray application throughout the operation using GPS tracking, real-time spray rate sensors, and terrain mapping. Data is captured continuously rather than requiring post-operation mapping, ensuring unbroken measurement continuity that is not affected by subsequent weather changes or agricultural activities. This continuous recording maintains both productivity and measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual post-spraying mapping is replaced with automated real-time GPS tracking and digital record-keeping systems that continuously log spray locations, rates, and environmental conditions during the operation. This automated digital documentation eliminates the need for later manual mapping that would be impaired by weather or field activities, maintaining both efficiency and precision through continuous electronic recording.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided for automated control of application of fluid to a surface. A surface map is annotated with shapes designating zones for spraying, and excluding others. A control system in a vehicle uses the annotated map and GPS to assist the operator of the vehicle avoid spraying on excluded zones, and provides a record of the spraying operation including locations sprayed and fluid spray rates. The control system operates valves to control spraying from a container on the vehicle, based on several parameters, so as to avoid spraying excluded zones and steep slopes, to avoid overlaps, and to limit fluid spray rates below pre-determined maximums. The system further assists the operator by providing a visual guide on a display. A kit can be provided to retrofit a vehicle for landspraying.