New challenges are faced today, as for example, in the drilling industry, accessing deeper reservoirs, or accessing targets in complex geological environments, but still in an efficient way. To achieve that, Measurement While Drilling systems (MWD) are used to define the trajectory of wellbores. Those MWD survey instruments are generally fitted with high-temperature accelerometers providing the inclination from vertical, and magnetometers defining the angle to magnetic North.
Under certain circumstances precluding the use of standard MWD (e.g. magnetic interference from nearby steel, magnetic anomalies), or for MWD survey verification purposes, gyroscope surveys have to be implemented.
In view of the future needs across various markets for improved efficiency in increasingly challenging environments, we are proposing intelligent inertial sensors in a MEMS form factor, suitable for digital communication, with low power consumption, while still meeting performance and accuracy at an affordable price.