Technique for estimating a state of a drilling apparatus or operation

Abstract

A method includes storing a first data structure associated with estimating a state of a drilling apparatus or operation based on data from a plurality of measurement devices. The method further includes receiving measurement data associated with a subset of the plurality of measurement devices. The method further includes, in response to determining that the subset does not include one or more measurement devices of the plurality of measurement devices, transforming the first data structure into a second data structure based on identities of the one or more measurement devices. The second data structure is associated with estimating the state of the drilling apparatus or operation based on data from the subset. The method further includes, based on the measurement data and the second data structure, generating an estimation of the state of the drilling apparatus or operation and a confidence value associated with the estimation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 storing a first data structure associated with estimating a state of a drilling apparatus or operation based on data from a plurality of measurement devices;   receiving measurement data associated with a subset of the plurality of measurement devices associated with the drilling apparatus or operation;   in response to determining that the subset does not include one or more measurement devices of the plurality of measurement devices, transforming the first data structure into a second data structure based on identities of the one or more measurement devices, wherein the second data structure is associated with estimating the state of the drilling apparatus or operation based on data from the subset; and   based on the measurement data and the second data structure, generating:
 an estimation of the state of the drilling apparatus or operation; and 
 a confidence value associated with the estimation. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising presenting, via an output device, a message based on the estimation, the message including an audible component, a visual component, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the message includes a warning associated with the estimation of the state. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of measurement devices includes a sensor, a measurement calculation device configured to calculate a measurement, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of measurement devices includes a device configured to calculate total depth, a device configured to calculate bit depth, a torque sensor, a speed sensor, a flow sensor, a pressure sensor, a weight on bit sensor, a block position sensor, a hook load sensor, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the state includes a drilling state, a drilling in cement state, a drilling while sliding state, a tripping in state, a tripping out state, an in slips state, a static state, a wash up state, a wash down state, a reaming in state, a remaining out state, or a circulating state. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first data structure indicates a first number of instances that a first combination of measurement values corresponded to the state and a second number of instances that a second combination of measurement values corresponded to the state, and wherein transforming the first data structure based on the identities of the one or more measurement devices includes summing the first number and the second number in response to determining that the first combination matches the second combination when measurement values associated with the one or more measurement devices are ignored. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising generating the measurement data by calculating change point values based on raw data received from the subset. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving the measurement data includes receiving a dataset associated with the plurality of measurement devices and, in response to determining that the one or more measurement devices are unreliable, generating the measurement data based on a portion of the dataset that is independent of the one or more measurement devices. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining that the one or more measurement devices are unreliable based on user input. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising constructing the first data structure by applying a deterministic model to historical measurement data to determine a number of occurrences of each of a plurality of states for each combination of values corresponding to the plurality of measurement devices. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first data structure corresponds to a p×n matrix, wherein p is a number of distinct measurement data value combinations present in the historical measurement data and n is a number of states included in the plurality of states. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the estimation includes applying a k nearest neighbors algorithm to the second data structure. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising calculating the confidence value based on an entropy value associated with transforming the first data structure into the second data structure. 
     
     
         15 . A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:
 storing a first data structure associated with estimating a state of a drilling apparatus or operation based on data from a plurality of measurement devices;   receiving measurement data associated with a subset of the plurality of measurement devices associated with the drilling apparatus or operation;   in response to determining that the subset does not include one or more measurement devices of the plurality of measurement devices, transforming the first data structure into a second data structure based on identities of the one or more measurement devices, wherein the second data structure is associated with estimating the state of the drilling apparatus or operation based on data from the subset; and   based on the measurement data and the second data structure, generating:
 an estimation of the state of the drilling apparatus or operation; and 
 a confidence value associated with the estimation. 
   
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable storage device of  claim 15 , wherein the operations further include converting raw measurement data received from the subset to binary data, ternary data, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable storage device of  claim 16 , wherein the operations further include initiating transmission of a message to another device, the message indicating the estimation. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable storage device of  claim 17 , wherein the message corresponds to an electronic mail message, to a short message service message, a social networking service message, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable storage device of  claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise initiating transmission of control signals to the drilling apparatus or operation based on the estimation. 
     
     
         20 . An apparatus comprising:
 one or more processors;   a storage device storing a first data structure associated with estimating a state of a drilling apparatus or operation based on data from a plurality of measurement devices; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:
 receiving measurement data associated with a subset of the plurality of measurement devices associated with the drilling apparatus or operation; 
 in response to determining that the subset does not include one or more measurement devices of the plurality of measurement devices, transforming the first data structure into a second data structure based on an identities of the one or more measurement devices, wherein the second data structure is associated with estimating the state of the drilling apparatus or operation based on data from the subset; and 
 based on the measurement data and the second data structure, generating:
 an estimation of the state of the drilling apparatus or operation; and 
 a confidence value associated with the estimation.