Founded in 2011, Osprey Informatics is one of the companies leading the charge to show how computer vision is ready to be put to work in the oil field. The firm has developed software that uses internet-connected cameras to monitor well-sites and field facilities for methane leaks or potential trespassers.
In December, the firm raised $3.75 million Canadian dollars ($2.83 million USD) to expand its operations, which will include the opening of a new office in Houston. Shell’s venture unit led the investment with two Calgary-based venture groups that have ties to the upstream sector, InterGen Capital and Evok Innovations.
The idea behind Osprey came when one of its founders worked as an intern for an oil company in Alberta and realized how many of the long-distance trips to the field could have been done remotely through video. Cameras by themselves would not equal efficient inspections, so the young company turned to advanced programming that could sift through the videos autonomously.
“Obviously there have been cameras at industrial sites for a very long time, but they typically have not had a lot of operational utility,” said Jeremy Bernard, the firm’s chief operating officer, pointing out that industrial surveillance footage is rarely reviewed in real time. “What computer vision allows you to do is look for specific activities or objects of interest to end users at a very accurate level, and then tailor the information for the user to make it actionable.”
Full article: https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=5003