Autonomous wellbore navigation device

Abstract

A borehole apparatus capable of autonomously estimating its position in a borehole and controlling the actions of a downhole tool located in the borehole. The apparatus comprising a body, at least one measurement device capable of measuring a parameter of the borehole or the distance traveled by the device, a computer system located in the body, and a power system. The computer system comprises a processor arranged to receive data from the at least one measurement device and to calculate the position of the apparatus in the borehole, and a data storage device capable of storing data that have been processed by the processor and for storing instructions to control the actions of the downhole tool. The computer system is configured to process the data gathered from the at least one measurement device to estimate the position of the downhole device using a Bayesian approach and configured to provide output signals to control an action of the downhole tool dependant on the position of the apparatus in the borehole.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.