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陆地地震技术公司 INOVA Geophysical 最近发布了其 NEUROtec 技术平台，该平台将数字控制集成到可控震源车辆的关键方面，从而实现监控系统、自动化、安全合规性和维护意识。

该公司在给 E&P 的电子邮件中表示：“这项技术可以即时远程访问一整套全新的 vib 功能，这是以前从未做过的。” “NEUROtec 降低了 HSE 风险并消除了手动监控，同时引入了新一代进化型可控震源，从而节省了大量时间和金钱。”

在接受 E&P 独家采访时，INOVA 工程与技术高级副总裁 Arjun Selvakumar 深入探讨了这项新技术、其应用以及当前正在进行的研发工作。 

E&P：NEUROtec 是什么？行业对这项技术的需求是什么？

Selvakumar：在 INOVA，我们不断审查地震测量操作的各个方面，以了解如何改进和优化。NEUROtec 就是此类举措的一个例子，该举措是在车辆产品线中推出的，旨在实现这一目标。它是一系列智能技术的集合，使新一代可控震源使用更安全、更环保、更高效，并具有卓越的宽带地球物理性能。NEUROtec 代表了可控震源发展背后的驱动力。 

E&P：这与市场上其他可控震源产品有何不同？其他服务/工具为何未能满足这一需求？

Selvakumar：传统的地震振动器是大型、重型仪器，需要精确的控制和操作，才能为地下成像提供高质量的可控震源能量。它需要详细的设置、持续的机器状况和输出监控以及仔细的操作。这需要每天执行数千次。虽然随着时间的推移已经取得了一些改进，但其中大部分都集中在源信号的质量上，而地震车辆操作的仪器、监测和控制却落后于建筑、农业、运输等其他行业的车辆。它需要手动方法，但这些方法对于最大限度地减少操作员疲劳、在每个操作员的整个工作班次中以高且一致的水平提高操作效率或减少频繁执行作业的未知越野条件下的 HSE 暴露几乎没有作用。前几代车辆继续采用手动、劳动密集型方法，无论是车辆运动还是可控震源驱动，可控震源操作几乎没有自动化。健康状况和监控是通过离散的、非联网的传感器和仪表来完成的，需要操作员始终保持警惕。  

E&P：INOVA Geophysical 是如何开发 NEUROtec 的？ 

Selvakumar：我们在可控震源技术方面拥有 40 年的经验，这些技术跨越了许多成功的车辆代，包括 AHV-IV PLS 380 和 AHV-IV PLS 364 级以及更小、更轻的 Univibe UV2 车辆。此外，我们最近推出了 AHV-V 480 Titan 车辆，可在宽带氛围中提供低频能量。每辆车都提供了关键技术，这些技术已被集成并进一步开发成现代技术框架，即 NEUROtec。这个新框架基于中央网络架构，该架构将振动器上的所有传感器、系统和控制器互连。该网络包括联网的并行处理计算机，并提供四个基本功能：1）全面监控车辆，2）以逻辑和有序的方式向操作员报告健康状况和状态，3）使用可操作的信息自动执行日常决策或创建基于条件的提示和警报，用于基于操作员的决策；4) 某些操作的自动化，以提高性能和可重复性。 

E&P：该工具的功能及其应用是什么？

Selvakumar：这些功能可以分为以下主要类别：可控震源和车辆操作区域；HSE 要素；状态和机器健康状况监控和记录。作为数量从 10 到 100 辆的车队的一部分，每辆车每天都会重复执行可控震源操作数千次。制动和加速到下一个源点的自动化是操作员的主要兴趣。该框架内的导航工具有助于以自动化方式定位并到达源点（航路点）。有数十个传感器监控发动机运行、液压系统、驱动系统等。这些监控系统还提供了了解可控震源关键功能的窗口——监控发动机动态、液位和压力等。NEUROtec 使用计算机提供基于状况的警报和提示，显着减轻了车辆操作员的负担。通过 NEUROtec 的记录日志，历史数据可用于检查车队的性能，并在问题变得严重之前识别需要维护或维修的可控震源装置。与某些汽车平台类似，NEUROtec 允许 INOVA 扩展车辆功能，即使在部署车辆后，操作员几乎不需要任何成本。 

E&P：您有最近的案例研究细节可以分享吗？

Selvakumar：去年，采用该技术的 AHV-V TITAN 车辆正在海湾地区使用 10 多个车队进行高生产率的地震勘测。由于前面提到的先进功能，这些支持 NEUROtec 的车辆帮助客户实现了高生产率目标和操作信心。在新的 COVID-19 世界中，国际旅行受到严格限制，可以远程识别和纠正问题，而无需 INOVA 人员在场。

E&P：在非常关注ESG的情况下，这项技术如何满足当前的环保需求并降低HSE风险？

Selvakumar：环境和社会治理是 INOVA 一直积极研究和开发增强现代可控震源的产品和方法的另一个领域。数字控制和监测系统是一种使能技术，可以检查对安全和操作至关重要的可控震源的任何功能。其中包括相机和成像技术等系统，有助于盲点覆盖、障碍物检测和避免。NEUROtec 框架内配备了摄像头，用于检测车辆中的燃油、机油和液压油泄漏情况，并采取纠正措施以避免对环境造成影响，并避免对操作员造成昂贵的停机时间和补救处罚。

此外，数字可控震源基础设施用于确保驾驶员在驾驶或操作可控震源之前系好安全带或引发其他用户所需的先决条件。NEUROtec 还涉及可控震源的其他领域，例如与新发动机技术的接口，这些技术需要更少的燃料、产生更多的马力并减少环境噪音的产生。它们还具有特定的增强功能，例如满足当前和未来法规的低硫燃料要求和排放标准。

E&P：是否有任何额外的工作计划投入到开发和/或额外的行业应用中，这些工作可能超出了您工作范围中定义的范围？

Selvakumar：我们正在进行多个项目，其中一个是安全地自动化车辆运动和停止与地震驱动功能的同步。这需要遵循安全协议，并避免在绕过人工干预时可能遇到的自动化陷阱。另一个项目是加强车辆健康和 QC [质量控制] 监控、记录、解析和呈现趋势信息的水平，以便进行预测性维护。NEUROtec 的目标是提供更安全、更清洁的操作可控震源，同时降低成本和更好地控制操作。总之，NEUROtec 技术的持续开发正在顺利进行，并面向新一代可控震源，为承包商、运营商及其最终客户提供显着的价值和利益。

E&P：作为该领域的专家，您认为地震和勘探技术的未来发展方向是什么？

Selvakumar：随着主要石油公司勘探资本预算的逐年压力，设备供应商降低系统定价的压力越来越大，这使得产品供应日益商品化。该领域显着降低成本的机会正在减少。展望未来，重点将会而且应该从设备资产转向运营改进。随着化石燃料勘探受到政府和社会利益相关者越来越严格的审查，这将旨在降低勘测运营成本、周转时间和运营速度，改善健康状况并减少安全风险暴露，并减少运营对环境的影响。地震服务和设备提供商需要在这些快速变化的边界条件下加强合作，以实现这些目标并提供有效的解决方案。

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INOVA Geophysical, a land seismic technology company, recently released its NEUROtec technology platform that integrates digital control into critical aspects of the vibroseis vehicle, which enables monitoring systems, automation, safety compliance and maintenance awareness.

"This technology gives instant and remote access to a whole new set of vib functions and has not been done before," the company stated in an email to E&P. "NEUROtec reduces HSE risks and eliminates manual monitoring, while ushering in a new generation of evolved vibroseis that saves a significant amount of time and money."

In an exclusive interview with E&P,  INOVA's Arjun Selvakumar, senior vice president of engineering and technology, provided an in-depth look at this new technology, its applications as well as current R&D in the works. 

E&P: What is NEUROtec, and what is the industry need for this technology?

Selvakumar: At INOVA, we are constantly reviewing aspects of the seismic surveying operation to understand how we can improve and optimize. NEUROtec is an example of one such initiative that was launched within the vehicles product line to do just that. It is a collection of smart technologies that enables a new generation of vibroseis that is safer to use, more environmentally friendly, more productive and with exceptional broadband geophysical performance. NEUROtec represents the driving force behind the evolution of vibroseis. 

E&P: How is this different from other vibroseis products on the market, and how have other services/tools failed to meet this need?

Selvakumar: Traditional seismic vibrators are large, heavy instruments that require precise control and operation to deliver high-quality vibroseis source energy for subsurface imaging. It requires detailed setup, constant machine-condition and output monitoring, and careful operation. And this needs to be performed thousands of times per day. While improvements have been made over time, much of this has been focused on the quality of the source signal whereas the instrumentation, monitoring and control of the seismic vehicular operations have lagged behind vehicles in other industries such as construction, agriculture, transportation, etc. It has required manual methods that have done little to minimize operator fatigue, improve operational efficiency at a high and consistent level throughout the entire work shift of each operator, or reduce HSE exposure in uncharted, off-road conditions where the job is frequently performed. Previous generations of vehicles have continued to employ manual, labor-intensive methods with little automation of the vibroseis operation whether it be vehicular movement or the vibroseis actuation. Health and monitoring have been done through discrete, non-networked sensors and gauges that require the constant vigilance of the operator.  

E&P: How did INOVA Geophysical develop NEUROtec? 

Selvakumar: We took our 40-year experience with vibroseis technologies that have spanned numerous successful vehicle generations including the AHV-IV PLS 380 and AHV-IV PLS 364 class as well as the smaller, lighter Univibe UV2 vehicle. In addition, we recently introduced the AHV-V 480 Titan vehicle that provides low-frequency energy in a broadband vibe. Each of these vehicles provided key technologies that have been integrated and further developed into a modern technology framework that is NEUROtec. This new framework is based on a central networked architecture that interconnects all the sensors, systems and controllers on board the vibrator. This network includes parallel processing computers networked together and provides four essential functions: 1) full monitoring of the vehicle, 2) reporting health and status to the operator in a logical and ordered fashion, 3) using the actionable information to automate routine decisions or create condition-based prompts and alerts for operator-based decisions, and 4) automation of certain operations to improve performance and repeatability. 

E&P: What are the tool's capabilities and its application?

Selvakumar: The capabilities can be split into these major categories: vibroseis and vehicle operational areas; HSE elements; and status and machine health monitoring and logging. Vibroseis operations are repeatedly performed thousands of times a day by each vehicle as part of a fleet that can number anywhere from 10 to 100. Automating aspects of braking and accelerating to the next source point is of key interest to the operator. Navigation tools within this framework help locate and reach source points (waypoints) in an automated fashion. There are dozens of sensors monitoring the engine operation, hydraulic systems, drive systems, etc. These monitoring systems also provide a window into critical functions of the vibroseis—monitoring engine dynamics, fluid levels and pressure, and many others. Using computers, NEUROtec provides condition-based alerts and prompts significantly reducing the burden on the vehicle operator. Through NEUROtec’s record logs, historical data can be used to examine performance of fleets and identify vibroseis units that need maintenance or repair before issues become critical. Akin to certain automotive platforms, NEUROtec allows INOVA to extend vehicle capability even after vehicles are deployed with little to no cost to operators. 

E&P: Do you have any recent case study details to share?

Selvakumar: The AHV-V TITAN vehicles with this technology are being used in the Gulf region in a high-productivity, seismic survey employing 10-plus fleets over the past year. These NEUROtec-enabled vehicles have helped the customer achieve their high-productivity goals and operational confidence due to the advanced features mentioned earlier. In the new COVID-19 world where international travel has been severely restricted, identification and correction of issues can be performed remotely without INOVA personnel on the ground.

E&P: With a large focus on ESG, how does this technology meet current needs to be environmentally friendly and reduce HSE risks?

Selvakumar: Environmental and social governance is another area where INOVA has been actively researching and developing products and methods that enhance modern vibroseis. Digital control and monitoring systems are enabling technologies that allow scrutiny of any function of the vibroseis that is critical to safety and operations. These include systems such as cameras and imaging technology that help with blind spot coverage, obstacle detection and avoidance. Cameras are outfitted within the NEUROtec framework to detect fuel, oil and hydraulic fluid spills from the vehicle and take corrective action to avoid impacting the environment as well as avoid expensive downtime and remediation penalties on the operator.

In addition, a digital vibroseis infrastructure is used to ensure the driver is wearing a seatbelt or induce other user-required prerequisites before driving or operating the vibroseis. NEUROtec also reaches other areas of the vibroseis, such as interfacing to new engine technologies that require less fuel, generate more horsepower and reduce ambient noise generation. They also come with specific enhancements such as low-sulfur fuel requirements and emission standards that meet current and future regulations.

E&P: Is there any additional work planned to put into development and/or additional industry applications it might have beyond those defined in your scope of work?

Selvakumar: We have several projects underway with one being to safely automate the synchronization of the vehicular movement and stoppage versus the seismic actuation function. This requires safety protocols to be followed and avoid automation pitfalls that could be encountered when aspects of human intervention are bypassed. Another project is to strengthen the level of vehicle health and QC [quality control] monitoring, logging, parsing and presenting trend information such that predictive maintenance can be undertaken. NEUROtec’s objectives aim to provide a safer and cleaner operating vibroseis coupled with lower cost and better controlled operations. In summary, continued development of NEUROtec technologies are well underway and geared toward a new generation of vibroseis that provide significant value and benefits to contractors, operators and their ultimate customers.

E&P: As an expert in this field, what do you see as the path forward for seismic and exploration technology?

Selvakumar: With year-on-year pressure on exploration capital budgets of major oil companies, there is increased pressure on equipment providers to lower system pricing, which has increasingly commoditized the product offerings. There is diminishing opportunity for significant cost reduction in this space. Going forward, the focus will and should shift from the equipment assets to the operational improvements. This will be directed at reducing the surveying operational costs, turnaround time and operational speed, improvement of health and reduction of the safety risk exposure and reducing the environmental impact of the operation as fossil fuel exploration gets increased scrutiny from governmental and societal stakeholders. The seismic service and equipment providers will need to increasingly work together and within these fast-changing boundary conditions to achieve these goals and provide an effective solution.