Oil Firms Learn to Move an Ancient Product with New-Age Tech | Hacker News Reader

Oil Firms Learn to Move an Ancient Product with New-Age Tech

nytimes.com

45 pointsredcastle11 comments

> Inspired by apps like Shazam that recognize the voices of pop stars, they figured how to distinguish the sonic signature of sand from other sounds, like flowing oil.

It is interesting that the Music industry and Oil industry have a few connections through signal processing now. Andy Hildebrand, the inventor of autotune, developed it using ideas and methods imported from the oil industry[0]

> What “clicked” for Hildebrand was that he could utilize some of the very same processing methods he’d used in the oil industry to build a pitch correction tool.

[0]: https://priceonomics.com/the-inventor-of-auto-tune/

If it has the same impact it had on music then the oil industry is about to die of a slow death.

Psh 808s and Heartbreak is a classic. Don’t tell me T-Pain doesn’t just make your heart soar; I know you’re lying.

/humor

Let us hope you're right!

> On weather-battered offshore platforms in Britain’s North Sea, for instance, technicians still walk around with “big pieces of paper in the rain, wind,” said Claire Day, a BP operations engineer. “It is not an ideal way to work.”

Wait, actual pieces of paper? wouldn't it make more sense to have at least some kind of screen?

Such an interesting contrast between using Shazam-like technology to discover oil/sand and using paper on the rigs.

Software for reading blueprints and technical specs is beyond abysmal.

You would have to have special spark resistant kit though oil rigs are a major fire hazard

Big pieces of paper are much easier to work collaboratively with than diagrams on than tiny screens, unfortunately. Lots of people still get paper maps and charts for this reason.

The company that makes a cheap roll-up non-backlit e-paper display will make billions if they figure this market out.

It's likely weatherproof paper and a grease pencil. We deal with EMS agencies and modern technology is often useless for them in harsh weather. Screens can be difficult to read outdoors and any touch devices are unresponsive in a downpour or very cold weather. Not to mention they often have blood on their hands so contamination is also an issue with any tech. I'm sure the greasy filth of an oil rig doesn't play well with most tech either.

Besides the reasons already explained why (moisture-resistant) paper still works better for the location than electronic pads, I'm guessing refinement would still be welcome in more cheaply/quickly printing new paper diagrams on demand.

I was talking to my friend who works in a Big Oil co in their research division about this the other day. I'm no fan of Oil and Gas, but breakthroughs in drilling and exploring Oil and Minerals are really important for the future of humanity. Taking a super long term view, this stuff would be very useful once we begin to mine asteroids, other planets and stuff.

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