Geosteering tool assemblies having auto navigation drill-cruise, bottom hole assemblies, and methods for downhole generation of steering commands

A bottom hole assembly arranged at a downhole end of a drill string, the bottom hole assembly comprising a drill bit, a downhole tool array of downhole tools arranged uphole of the drill bit, and a communication link that communicatively connects the downhole tools in a downhole tool array,

• wherein:
• the downhole tool array comprises a geosteering tool, a data collection tool, and a directional drilling controller,
• each of the downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective pair of distal ends, adjacent downhole tools in the downhole tool array being adjoined at respective distal ends of the adjacent downhole tools, the distal ends at which the adjacent downhole tools are adjoined each comprising a respective ring connector that electrically couples the adjacent downhole tools, and
• each downhole tool in the downhole tool array that is adjacent to multiple downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective conductive link that electrically couples the ring connectors of the downhole tool,
• wherein the communication link comprising the respective ring connectors and the respective conductive links, and
• wherein the geosteering tool includes a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising geosteering logic and instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the geosteering tool to:
• receive sensor data from the data collection tool via the communication link;
• generate a steering command based on the received sensor data and the geosteering logic;
• and
• send the generated steering command to the directional drilling controller via the communication link, the directional drilling controller configured to set an orientation of the drill bit based on the steering command.

A method carried out by a geosteering tool, the method comprising:

• receiving sensor data from a data collection tool;
• generating a steering command based on the received sensor data and further based on geosteering logic stored in the geosteering tool;
• and
• sending the generated steering command to a directional drilling controller,
• wherein:
• the geosteering tool, the data collection tool, and the directional drilling controller each take the form of a respective downhole tool in a downhole tool array of a bottom hole assembly that is arranged at a downhole end of a drill string,
• each of the downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective pair of distal ends, adjacent downhole tools in the downhole tool array being adjoined at respective distal ends of the adjacent downhole tools,
• the distal ends at which the adjacent downhole tools are adjoined each comprise a respective ring connector that electrically couples the adjacent downhole tools,
• each downhole tool in the downhole tool array that is adjacent to multiple downhole tools in the downhole tool array comprises a respective conductive link that electrically couples the ring connectors of the downhole tool, and
• the geosteering tool receives the sensor data and sends the generated steering command via a communication link that includes the respective ring connectors and the respective conductive links.