Material Pile Mapping for Mobile Drilling Rig Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile drilling rigs face challenges in navigating and avoiding material piles formed by drilling operations, which can hinder movement and increase the risk of collisions or disruptions, especially in complex drill sites with uneven topologies and directional drilling scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A material pile mapping system integrated with a mobile drilling rig, comprising a borehole marking subsystem and a material pile estimation subsystem, generates a map of borehole locations and estimated material pile dimensions, enabling precise navigation and collision avoidance by providing real-time data on material pile sizes, shapes, and characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mobile drilling rig operates autonomously or with operator assistance, then navigation and collision avoidance capability is improved, but the complexity of the system increases due to integration of mapping and detection subsystems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the borehole marking subsystem, material pile estimation subsystem, and map generation program into a unified material pile mapping system that is integrated with the mobile drilling rig. This merging of previously separate functions (drilling, marking, estimating, and mapping) into a single integrated system improves navigation reliability while managing complexity through functional consolidation rather than separate independent systems
Solution Approach 2:
The material pile mapping system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it marks borehole locations, estimates material pile dimensions, generates comprehensive maps, and provides navigation assistance. This multi-functionality allows a single integrated system to perform what would otherwise require multiple separate systems, improving reliability without proportionally increasing complexity
2Productivity
If the rig moves quickly about the drill site to increase productivity, then operational efficiency is improved, but the risk of collision with material piles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary mapping of material pile locations and dimensions before the rig needs to navigate through those areas. By pre-generating the material pile map and marking borehole locations in advance, the rig can travel at higher speeds with reduced collision risk, as the navigation path can be planned based on known obstacle locations rather than requiring slow, cautious movement
Solution Approach 2:
The material pile mapping system provides continuous feedback to the mobility control system about material pile locations and dimensions. This feedback loop enables the rig to adjust its path in real-time based on mapped data, allowing faster operation while maintaining collision avoidance capability through informed navigation decisions
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile drilling rig is configured to drill boreholes into the ground about a drill site. To assist navigating the mobile drilling rig and other machines about the drill site, a material pile mapping system can be included that includes the borehole locations and an estimated material pile dimension associated with a material pile formed about the borehole from material removed during drilling of the borehole. The material pile dimension can be estimated from an estimated material pile volume of the material removed from the borehole.