The Ocean Drilling Program VII: Expert systems for deepwater scientific drilling activities

The development of knowledge-based expert systems for offshore scientific and engineering applications holds great promise for a wide variety of important problems. The problems range from technically complex and data intensive types to the more mundane logistics and scheduling problems. This relatively new computer based technology involves the development of sophisticated software incorporating the latest artificial intelligence technology. Expert advisor systems are designed to help less experienced personnel achieve a level of performance comparable to that of a human expert in the performance of a specialized task. Fundamental concepts, computer language requirements and overall system requirements are discussed. Specific problem areas in which the Ocean Drilling Program might benifit from the application of this new technology are presented.