This paper first describes the innovative topology and structure of a wireless ad hoc and sensor network in a so called line-in-the-underground formation and the feasibility of achieving a reliable wireless connection underground with regards to a borehole telemetry system. It further describes a routing algorithm/protocol implementation based on a modification of the ad hoc on-demand distance vector protocol to achieve a reliable underground communication scheme for the wireless ad hoc network deployed underground for sensor data acquisition in real time as applied in the borehole telemetry system. Simulations and experiments are conducted to investigate and verify the effectiveness of this routing technique and the performance results are shown.

This paper describes the feasibility and implementation of an In-drilling alignment method for an inertia navigation system based measurement while drilling system as applied to the vertical drilling process, where there is seldom direct access to a reference measurement due the communication network architecture and telemetry framework constraints. It involves the sequential measurement update of multiple nodes by the propagation of the reference measurement sequentially over nodes, each of which has an integrated inertia measurement unit sensor and runs the extended Kalman filter based signal processing unit, until the final measurement update of the main sensor node embedded in the borehole assembly is done. This is done particularly to keep track of the yaw angle position during the drilling process.