Seismic Node Touchdown Monitoring for Real-Time Seabed Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for deploying ocean bottom seismic nodes on the seabed are inefficient due to the reliance on expensive acoustic positioning transponders, which provide limited accuracy and real-time guidance, and do not confirm effective touchdown of nodes, leading to poor seismic data quality.
Innovation Solution
The use of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with tracking and guidance systems to monitor and position seismic nodes during deployment, eliminating the need for transponders and enhancing node positioning accuracy and real-time guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If acoustic positioning transponders are used to monitor cable and node positions during deployment, then position information can be obtained, but the cost is high, accuracy is limited, and real-time guidance capability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces acoustic positioning transponders with an underwater vehicle (AUV/ROV) equipped with acoustic tracking equipment. This substitution eliminates the need for multiple transponders along the cable while providing more accurate real-time position monitoring through direct acoustic tracking of the vehicle's location relative to the seabed and nodes.
Solution Approach 2:
The underwater vehicle serves multiple functions: it monitors cable deployment, tracks node positions, provides real-time guidance feedback to the surface vessel, and confirms touchdown events. This multi-functional approach replaces the specialized transponder system with a single versatile platform that performs all monitoring and guidance tasks.
2Loss of information
If transponders are used to identify cable portions, then some position information is obtained, but the exact location of entire cable sections and nodes between transponders remains unknown
Solution Approach 1:
The underwater vehicle continuously tracks and monitors the cable and node positions throughout the deployment process, providing uninterrupted position information. This continuous monitoring eliminates the information gaps that exist between discrete transponder locations, ensuring complete positional awareness of all cable sections and nodes at all times.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time feedback on cable and node positions to the surface vessel through the underwater vehicle's acoustic tracking system. This continuous feedback enables the deployment team to monitor the exact location of all components and make immediate adjustments to ensure proper deployment, eliminating the uncertainty inherent in transponder-based intermittent positioning.
3Ease of operation
If transponders are used for deployment monitoring, then basic position tracking is achieved, but real-time guidance ability to guide cable positioning during deployment is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The underwater vehicle provides continuous real-time feedback on cable position and node location during deployment. This feedback is transmitted to the surface vessel, enabling operators to guide the cable positioning in real-time and make immediate corrections, thereby eliminating the time loss associated with post-deployment position verification and adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary positioning guidance during the deployment process itself, rather than requiring post-deployment verification. The underwater vehicle tracks and reports positions in real-time, allowing the deployment team to ensure correct positioning before the deployment is complete, thus preventing time-consuming repositioning operations.
4Reliability
If transponders are used for deployment, then position monitoring is provided, but no clear evidence is obtained that touchdown has effectively occurred
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the transponder-based monitoring system with an underwater vehicle equipped with imaging equipment (camera/sonar). This substitution enables direct visual or acoustic confirmation of touchdown events, providing reliable evidence that nodes have made contact with the seabed, which cannot be obtained through transponder position data alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The underwater vehicle uses imaging equipment (camera or acoustic imaging) to visually detect and confirm touchdown events. The imaging system captures visual evidence of the node's contact with the seabed, providing clear confirmation of effective touchdown, analogous to how color changes can indicate state transitions in other systems.
Data Source
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Figure 3
AI summary
Apparatuses, systems, and methods for guiding and/or positioning a plurality of seismic nodes on or near the seabed by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) or a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). In one embodiment, an underwater vehicle is configured to monitor the deployment of cable connected to a plurality of seismic nodes, including the touchdown monitoring, positioning, and guiding of deployed autonomous seismic nodes or ocean bottom cable. The underwater vehicle may comprise a propulsion system configured to steer and propel the vehicle in a body of water, a tracking system configured to automatically track the cable and/or attached seismic nodes, and a guidance system configured to communicate with a surface vessel node data in real time or near real time for active guidance and/or positioning of the deployment cable.