Patent Publication Number: US-2021189813-A1

Title: Systems for monitoring drilling cuttings

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/251,940, filed Aug. 30, 2016, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ESTIMATING CUTTING VOLUMES ON SHALE SHAKERS, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/212,252, filed on Aug. 31, 2015, and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ESTIMATING CUTTING VOLUMES ON SHALE SHAKERS,” both of which are incorporated by their entireties for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to systems and methods that use computer vision for measuring the volume of drilling cuttings exiting a shale shaker. 
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
     Modern drilling often involves scores of people and multiple inter-connecting activities. Obtaining real-time information about ongoing operations is of paramount importance for safe and/or efficient drilling. As a result, modern rigs often have thousands of sensors actively measuring numerous parameters related to operations, in addition to information about the down-hole drilling environment. 
     Despite the multitude of sensors on today&#39;s rigs, a significant portion of rig activities and sensing problems remain difficult to measure with classical instrumentation. Person-in-the-loop sensing is often utilized in place of automated sensing. 
     By applying automated, computer-based video interpretation, continuous, robust, and accurate assessment of many different phenomena may potentially be achieved without requiring a person-in-the-loop. Automated interpretation of video data is commonly known as computer vision. Recent advances in computer vision technologies have led to significantly improved performance across a wide range of video-based sensing tasks. Computer vision may be used in some cases to improve safety, reduce costs and/or improve efficiency. 
     As drilling fluid is pumped into the wellbore and back up, it typically carries with it solid material known as drilling cuttings. These cuttings are typically separated from the drilling fluid on an instrument known as a shale shaker or shaker table. The process of separating the cuttings from the fluid may be difficult to monitor using classical instrumentation due to the violent nature of the shaking process. Currently the volume of cuttings is difficult to measure and typically requires man-power to monitor. Knowledge of the total volume and/or approximate volume of the cuttings coming off the shaker table may improve the efficiency, safety, and/or environmental impact of the drilling process. 
     The configuration of the shale shaker may be optimized based on the location of the fluid front, the size and/or characteristics of drill cuttings, the characteristics of the shale shaker screen being used, and/or other parameters. Adjusting the angle of the shale shaker, relative to level, may help maximize the efficiency and lifespan of the shale shaker and shaker screens. If a shaker table is at too steep of a level, the portion of the screens closest to the deposit of drilling fluid may become damaged more quickly by drill cuttings while the further removed portions of the screen are never utilized. A steep shaker angle may also lead to inefficient separation of the cuttings and the drilling fluid, thus complicating the gathering of information relating to the drill cuttings. If the angle of the shaker is too low, drilling fluid may simply run off the end of the shaker table, leading to lost drilling fluid and potential environmental contamination. The vibration speed of the shaker table may similarly be optimized in order to maximize the efficiency and the useful lifespan of a shaker table and shaker table screens. 
     There is therefore a need for an automated computer vision based technique for estimating the volume of cuttings coming off of a shale shaker. Information from this system may be used to provide real-time information about the well-bore to the drill team. This information may also be used to optimize, improve, or adjust the shale shaker angle (saving mud, and/or increasing efficiency); alert an operator to expected and/or unexpected changes in the cuttings volumes which may, in some cases, be indicative of hole cleaning, influx, losses, and/or other problems; and show whether or not the volume of cuttings exiting the shaker is approximately commensurate with the rate of penetration (“ROP”). 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts one of many disclosed embodiments of a system comprising multiple cameras and distance sensing equipment arranged to view drill cuttings on a shaker table. 
         FIG. 2  depicts one of many disclosed embodiments of a system comprising multiple cameras and connected to a processor as well as multiple light sources arranged to illuminate a shaker table. 
         FIG. 3  depicts a side view of one disclosed embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  depicts an alternate embodiment comprising a scale and processor in order to analyze cuttings on a shaker table. 
         FIG. 5  depicts a typical well circulation system. 
         FIG. 6  depicts a potential method of analyzing drill cuttings. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The shale shaker video monitor (SSVM) system may consist of a shale shaker table  105 , shaker table screen  125 , at least one and preferably more than one camera or other imaging device  110  configured to include a view of the shaker table  105 , and a processor  115  configured to visually identify drill cuttings  101  as they approach and/or fall off the edge of the table  105 . In a preferred embodiment, two or more cameras  110  with known locations may be used in order to provide substantially stereo vision. Alternatively, RGB-D cameras, ranging cameras, and/or other distance sensing equipment  130 , such as LIDAR, may be used. Depending on the speed of the shaker  105  and/or the rate at which the cuttings  101  are moving, the camera(s)  110  may collect frames at rates between 0.003 Hz (1 frame per 5 minutes) and 30 Hz. In some embodiments, the camera(s)  110  may collect frames at rates as low as 0.017 Hz (1 frame per minute), 0.03 Hz (1 frame per 30 seconds), or 0.1 Hz (1 framer per 10 seconds). In some embodiments, the camera(s)  110  may collect frames at rates as fast as 2 Hz, 5 Hz, 10 Hz, or 20 Hz. 
     Each camera  110  may contain, or may be connected to, a processor  115  which is configured to perform detection and/or localization of the drilling cuttings  101  on the shaker  105 . The processor  115  may additionally or alternatively be configured to identify cuttings  101 , track the cuttings  101 , and/or estimate the volume and/or shape of the cuttings  101 . These actions may also be performed on a per unit time basis when desirable by analyzing the data sent from the camera  110  to the processor  115 . It will be appreciated that the data from the camera  110  may be analyzed in order to create new data which may itself be analyzed in a vast number of ways. In some embodiments, information from the camera(s)  110  may be combined with information from multiple sensors. Information related to the flow-in, drilling pumps, flow-out, and/or pit volume, collectively known as the circulation system, may be useful in combination with some embodiments. By combining this information, the system may be able to provide different information and/or alerts under different conditions, such as when the pumps are on vs. off. Information across the different sensor modalities may be fused to allow the system to make better decisions under certain circumstances. 
     Disclosed embodiments include many possible combinations of cameras  110  and sensors. For example, optical or video cameras, single or multi-stereo-cameras, IR, LIDAR, RGB-D cameras, or other recording and/or distance-sensing equipment may all be used, either alone or in combination. Each camera or combination of cameras and sensors may be used to track the volume of cuttings  101  exiting a shaker table  105 . Information from the cameras  110  and/or sensors may be combined with information from the circulation system (e.g., flow-in, flow-out, and pit-volume) to modify the system&#39;s behavior as desired. 
     Information about the absolute and/or relative change in cutting  101  volumes coming off of the shaker table  105  may, under certain conditions, be combined with circulation system parameters and/or other drilling parameters, such as rate of penetration, and be relayed to the drilling engineer or other personnel. For example, a sudden change, either decrease or increase, in the cuttings volume not correlated to changing rate of penetration may indicate hole cleaning problems, influxes, and/or other changes in conditions. Additionally, a sudden change in the spatial characteristics of the cuttings  101  may indicate a cave-in or other phenomena. 
     The shale shaker or shaker table  105  may be any model, type, or design of shale shaker used in the industry. Additionally, custom designed shakers or shaker tables build for a specific application are also considered. One purpose of a shaker table is to separate drill cuttings from the drilling mud. Drilling mud is commonly used to cool and lubricate drilling components as well as transport the drill cuttings up to the surface from the bottom of the well bore. As is known in the industry, a wide variety of designs and components may be used to serve this purpose. 
     Disclosed embodiments allow the angle and speed of the shaker table  105  to be adjusted in response to information compiled by the processor  115 . Traditionally, a human would be required to monitor the shale shaker periodically. There could be hours in between each individual observation performed by the human operator. The angle of some traditional shaker tables could be manually adjusted if the human operator determined that angle adjustment was necessary. Disclosed embodiments allow for observation of the shaker table  105  as often as every 5 minutes, 1minute, 30 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 second, or substantially continuous monitoring. Disclosed embodiments also allow for adjustment of the angle and/or speed of the shale shaker  105  every 1 hour, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 second, or substantially continuous adjustment of the shale shaker angle. This allows for maximizing the efficient use of the shaker table  105 . This also prevents potentially devastating environmental impacts that can be caused when drilling fluid is allowed to run off the shaker table  105  due to inadequate adjustment of the angle and/or speed of the table  105  in response to changing conditions. Utilizing more frequent or nearly continuous monitoring and adjustment of shaker table angle and/or speed helps to prevent ecological damage and maintain the life of the shaker screens  125 . Additionally, frequent monitoring and adjustment of the speed of the shaker table  105  may help to reclaim a higher percentage of the drilling fluid used in the well circulation system  200 . By maintaining an ideal shaker speed, significant cost savings can be realized while minimizing the potential damage caused to the screen  125  by the drill cuttings  101 . Disclosed embodiments may adjust the speed of the shaker table  105  through electronic, mechanical, or other appropriate controls of the motors responsible for vibrating the shale shaker. The angle of the shaker  105  may be adjusted using hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, or other known means for adjusting the angle of a shale shaker  105 . 
     Disclosed embodiments allow the angle and speed of the shaker table  105  to be adjusted in response to information compiled by the processor  115 . Traditionally, a human would be required to monitor the shale shaker periodically. There could be hours in between each individual observation performed by the human operator. The angle of some traditional shaker tables could be manually adjusted if the human operator determined that angle adjustment was necessary. Disclosed embodiments allow for observation of the shaker table  105  as often as every 5 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 second, or substantially continuous monitoring. Disclosed embodiments also allow for adjustment of the angle and/or speed of the shale shaker  105  every 1 hour, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 second, or substantially continuous adjustment of the shale shaker angle. This allows for maximizing the efficient use of the shaker table  105 . This also prevents potentially devastating environmental impacts that can be caused when drilling fluid is allowed to run off the shaker table  105  due to inadequate adjustment of the angle and/or speed of the table  105  in response to changing conditions. Utilizing more frequent or nearly continuous monitoring and adjustment of shaker table angle and/or speed helps to prevent ecological damage and maintain the life of the shaker screens  125 . Additionally, frequent monitoring and adjustment of the speed of the shaker table  105  may help to reclaim a higher percentage of the drilling fluid used in the well circulation system  200 . By maintaining an ideal shaker speed, significant cost savings can be realized while minimizing the potential damage caused to the screen  125  by the drill cuttings  101 . Disclosed embodiments may adjust the speed of the shaker table  105  through electronic, mechanical, or other appropriate controls of the motors responsible for vibrating the shale shaker. The angle of the shaker  105  may be adjusted using hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, or other known means for adjusting the angle of a shale shaker  105 . 
     Cameras (optical, IR, RGB-D, single, stereo, or multi-stereo among others)  110  may be mounted in any configuration around the shaker table  105 . In many embodiments, the cameras  110  will be mounted within pre-defined constraints around the shaker table  105 . In one embodiment, camera  110  orientations are approximately 45 degrees to the shaker table  105 , but cameras  110  may be placed anywhere with a view of the cuttings  101  and/or the fluid front. This may include from 0 degrees to 180 degrees pitch. When using a single camera  110 , it may be preferable to place the camera  110  within a range of 60 degrees to −60 degrees of vertical. The camera  110  may be configured to capture a view from above, oriented approximately down at the top of the shaker  105 . 
     In some embodiments, multiple cameras  110  may be placed in mutually beneficial locations. As an example, stereo vision approaches may improve particle size estimation. Stereo cameras  110  typically view the same scene from approximately the same angle but from different spatial locations. Alternatively, cameras  110  viewing the same scene from different angles, such as a front view, side angle view, and/or overhead view may provide different views of the same objects and may reduce the need for assumptions, such as rotational symmetry, in volume estimation. Additionally, when using multiple cameras  110 , the preferred placement may depend on the shape, size, design, speed, and/or model of the shaker  105 , the desired volume fidelity, and/or the configuration of sensors under consideration. Preferably, multiple camera  110  placements may be configured to provide additional information from each camera or sensor as discussed. 
     Cameras  110  may be equipped with a flash or other light source  120  to maintain substantially adequate illumination across multiple images. This may be useful since the ambient lighting can change significantly depending on the time of day or night and/or the weather conditions. By maintaining adequate lighting, some processing complications may be able to be avoided. In some embodiments, light sources  120  which are independent of the cameras  110  may be used in order to provide suitable illumination. 
     Different behaviors of the cuttings  101  and shakers  105  may be expected during active-flow periods when the mud pumps are running and passive periods when the mud pumps are off. Additional changes may manifest during the transient periods shortly after the pumps switch either on or off. Additional data about the drilling process, such as hook load, bit depth, or rate of penetration, among others, may also be used to provide contextual information to the computer vision system in certain conditions. 
     In some embodiments, discrete cuttings  101  may be identified on the shaker  105 , and/or as they fall off the end of the shaker  105  using one or more of many image processing features and/or machine vision techniques. Background subtraction and/or change detection may be used to identify cuttings  101  in part because cuttings  101  may appear different than the typical background, which may consist of a shale shaker  105 , shale shaker screen  125 , and/or other background features. Cuttings  101  may also appear different from the typical background when falling off the edge of the shaker  105 . Cuttings  101  may additionally appear to “move” at an approximately constant velocity across a shaker table  105 . These features may enable background estimation and/or subtraction techniques to be used to identify individual cuttings  101 . Texture features may also be used for detection of drilling cuttings  101 . Cuttings  101  may have an image texture which is different from the background. This may allow the cuttings  101  to be detected using this difference in texture. This detection may be accomplished using one-class classifiers to distinguish cuttings  101  as differences from the background and/or vice-versa. Two-class classifiers may also be used to actively distinguish two classes, one class for cuttings  101  and another for background. It will be appreciated that multiple-class classifiers may also be used when desirable. 
     In other embodiments, reflectivity and/or color properties may also be used for cutting detection. Cuttings  101  may often be covered in drilling fluid and therefore may have different reflectivity and/or coloration than the background (shale shaker, conveyor belt, and/or other background features). Cuttings  101  may therefore be detectable using these changes in color and reflectivity. It will be noted that these techniques may also be applicable when the cuttings  101  are not covered in drilling fluid, as long as the cuttings  101  do not present the same reflectivity and color characteristics as the background. 
     Other possible techniques for cuttings detection include, but are not limited to, histogram of oriented gradients (“HOG”), scale invariant feature transform (“SIFT”), speeded-up-robust-features (“SURF”), binary robust independent elementary features (“BRIEF”), Viola-Jones, (“V-J”), Haar wavelet, texture features (e.g., [Haralick 1973]), pre-trained deep convolutional neural networks (e.g., OverFeat [Sermanet, 2014]), or convolutional neural networks specifically trained on mud-shaker images or other reasonable image surrogates, and others. Suitable techniques are described in, for example, Pierre Sermanet, David Eigen, Xiang Zhang, Michael Mathieu, Rob Fergus, Yann LeCun: “OverFeat: Integrated Recognition, Localization and Detection using Convolutional Networks”, International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR 2014), April 2014, (OpenReview.net), (arXiv:1312.6229) Robert M. Haralick, K. Shanmugam, and Its&#39;hak Dinstein, “Textural Features for Image Classification”, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, 1973, SMC-3 (6): 610-621 which references are incorporated by reference herein. 
     Alternative embodiments may additionally and/or alternatively use persistence and/or tracking techniques to identify cuttings  101 . Cuttings  101  often maintain approximately constant shape and size as they travel across the shaker  105 . As a result, individual cuttings  101  may be able to be tracked and/or disambiguated across multiple frames. Tracking cuttings  101  may be accomplished using any of a number of tracking techniques, (e.g., Kalman filters, particle filters, and/or other ad-hoc tracking techniques). This may enable resolution of the cuttings  101  as multiple “looks” are aggregated on each cutting  101 . In some embodiments, this may enable more accurate volume estimation as well. 
     Still more embodiments may use fluid and/or cuttings velocity estimation to identify cuttings  101 . Cuttings  101  often move across the shaker screen  125  at approximately the same velocity as one another. This velocity may be estimated across all of the observed cuttings  101  and/or tracked (e.g., with a Kalman filter). This information may then be used to identify other cuttings  101  and/or predict the eventual locations of cuttings  101  that may be temporarily lost during the tracking and identification stage. Changes in this velocity may also be flagged to an operator. 
     In embodiments that comprise multiple cameras, LIDAR, and/or RGB-D cameras  110 , particles may be identified using the observed “height” of the cuttings  101  as compared to the expected background height. 
     Techniques similar to those discussed may also be applicable in hyperspectral, IR, or other imaging modalities. As cuttings  101  are tracked on the shaker  105 , conveyor belt, and/or other device, their volume can be estimated in several ways. In embodiments using single-sensor RGB cameras  110  or similar devices, the approximate volume of cuttings  101  may be estimated from a single viewpoint using rotationally symmetric assumptions about the cuttings  101 , and the known, calculated, and/or estimated camera-to-shaker table distance. Alternatively, a cutting shape inference may be made using knowledge of the available light source  120  and estimating the reflectivity as a function of space on the visible parts of the cutting  101 . 
     For embodiments using single-sensor RGB cameras  110  or similar devices, the approximate volume of the cuttings  101  may also be estimated using previously trained regression techniques which determine the approximate object volume using image region features (e.g., eccentricity, perimeter length, and area among others) extracted from individual cuttings in the image. These image region features may be used to identify changes in the cutting  101  shapes as well. 
     Embodiments which use multiple cameras  110 , combined camera (e.g., stereo-camera) scenarios, or distance detection sensors  130 , depth-information may be directly available and/or inferable. This may provide the visible cross-section of the object and/or a measure of how that cross-section varies with height. This information may be used to improve the volume estimation by reducing the symmetry assumptions required to estimate the volume of each cutting  101 . 
     In some embodiments, the total volume of all the cuttings  101  visible in a scene, image, and/or frame may be estimated by combining information from the detection, tracking, and/or volume estimation portions of the techniques discussed. In other embodiments, the net volume flow may be calculated by considering the amount of volume entering or exiting the visible region per unit time. Alternatively, the change in volume may be estimated by calculating the volume of particles passing by a specified “line” in real-world space (e.g., the end of the shaker), or through a specified region on the shaker  105  or in the background. Depending on the particular installation, camera availability, and/or configuration, the total volume estimation may be appropriate for actual volume estimation in real-world units (e.g., 1M3 of cuttings per 5 minutes), and/or in relative terms (e.g., a 5% increase in cuttings volume in the last 5 minutes). Both may be valuable metrics in certain circumstances, but real-world units are preferable as the percent change can be derived from this information. 
     In still more alternative embodiments, information from the camera(s)  110  may be combined with information from the circulation system (e.g., flow-in, flow-out, ROP, and/or pit-volume) or other rig sensors to change the detection system behavior. As discussed, information across the different sensor modalities may be fused to make better decisions. As drilling continues, the camera system may be able to auto-calibrate to determine what a realistic amount of cuttings  101  per meter drilled is (e.g., leveraging ROP), and may additionally use this for automatic alarming if the observed volume of cuttings differs or diverges significantly. 
     Information regarding sudden unexpected changes in the volume, shapes, velocities, and/or other characteristics of the cuttings  101  can be brought to the users attention visually, audibly, or with other notifications,. These notifications may be complete with photographs of the current situation and/or a plain-text description of the cause of the alarm (e.g., “sudden increase in volume of cuttings”). 
     In other embodiments, the video data and/or other data may also be tagged along with any information extracted during the computer vision processing process. Gathered information may be displayed to an operator with a user interface which may include an annotated image of the shaker tables  105  under consideration. This image may be automatically annotated and may also, in certain embodiments, display marks identifying a variety of key features, such as the fluid front, cuttings  101 , any potential issues, etc. 
     In another embodiment, the volume of cuttings  101  coming off the shaker table  105  may be estimated using a two-step process of object detection followed by volume estimation. Object detection may be accomplished by background subtraction, motion detection, direct object detection, and/or a variety of similar techniques. The use of RGB and IR cameras  110  may be useful under certain circumstances. Object detection may also be obtained using standard background depth estimation and/or subtraction approaches. The use of distancing equipment  130 , such as LIDAR and/or RGB-D cameras, may have advantages with regard to these techniques. 
     Once a cutting  101  has been detected, a camera  110  may be used to estimate cutting volumes using the known camera transform parameters, the known distance to the shaker  105 , and/or the shape and/or size of the detected object as it appears in the camera frame. Similar processing is applicable for many types of cameras  110 , such as RGB, and IR cameras. For multiple cameras viewing the same scene, stereo vision techniques may be used to obtain a potentially more detailed 3-D representation of the cuttings  101 , and thereby achieve more accurate volume estimations. If RGB-D or LIDAR data is available, these may be used to render 3-D models of the cuttings, for higher fidelity volume estimation. 
     In alternate embodiments of the system, a scale may  310  be used to determine the mass of cuttings  110  exiting a shale shaker  105 . By monitoring the rate which a mass of cuttings  101  exit the shaker  105 , changes in the well bore conditions may be extracted as discussed above. The weighing surface of the scale  310  may be adjustable. By angling the weighing surface, the speed at which cuttings and/or other material slide off the scale  310  after exiting the shale shaker  105  can be adjusted. This adjustment may be made for calibration reasons, in response to gathered data, in response to changing conditions, and/or for any other reason. In addition to monitoring the rate at which a given mass of cuttings  101  leaves the shale shaker  105 , the scale  310  may be used to monitor the relative momentum, and/or mass, of individual drill cuttings  101 . A pre-determined threshold may be set to notify the operator if there are any changes in the drill cuttings characteristics, such as average mass per unit time, average mass on the scale for a given set of known scale characteristics, and/or average standard deviations in the scale data. Scale characteristics that may impact these data sets could include the dimensions and shape of the weighing surface, the angle of the weighing surface, the relative locations of the scale  310  and the shale shaker  105 , the physical properties of the weighing surface, etc. In some embodiments the weighing surface may itself be a screen to allow liquids to pass through and/or allow for easier cleaning. 
     Various control mechanisms may be appropriate to automate the angle and/or position of the shale shaker  105 . For example, PID controllers and/or other systems may be used to adjust the shaker  105  based on acquired data. These adjustments may be done automatically, via a closed-loop system, or by instructing an operator to make the necessary changes based on the acquired data. 
       FIG. 1  shows a potential embodiment of the system disclosed. This embodiment comprises two cameras  110  arranged to capture significantly different views of the cutting  101  on the shaker table  105 . This embodiment also utilizes distance sensing equipment  130 . The cameras  110  and the distance sensing equipment  130  are connected to the processor  115  such that the captured data may be sent to the processor  115  and analyzed. 
       FIG. 2  shows a separate embodiment. This figure highlights the shaker table screen  125  and potential use of light sources  120  to illuminate the shaker table  105  during diverse times of day and weather. This figure also shows a possible stereo vision arrangement of cameras  110  which may be useful for obtaining additional visual data for processing. 
       FIG. 3  shows a side angle of a disclosed embodiment. 
     The specific position of the cameras  110 , distant sensors  130 , and the like in relation to the shaker table in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3  may vary depending upon many factors such as number of shaker decks and the desired application. For example, in  FIGS. 1 and 2  the cameras may be placed anywhere along the shaker table or even at the opposing end of the shaker table where the drier portion of the shaker is located in many instances. This may be particularly advantageous for multi-deck shakers. 
       FIG. 4  shows a side angle of an alternative embodiment comprising a scale  310  connected to a processor  115  in order to analyze drill cutting  101 . 
       FIG. 5  shows a typical well circulation system in which drilling mud or another liquid may be pumped from a mud pit into a well bore. The mud is used to cool the drilling equipment as well as carry cuttings  101  up to the surface and deposit the cuttings on a shaker table  105 . The level of mud in the pit may be detected using a pit volume sensor  220 . The flow of mud entering the well bore may be detected using a well flow-in sensor  210 . The flow of mud exiting the well may be detected using a well flow-out sensor  215 . The depth of the drill bit may be detected using a bit depth sensor  225 . The information gathered by these sensors and various combinations of this information may be used in order to provide a better understanding of the drill cutting characteristics and potential well conditions to an operator. 
       FIG. 6  outlines a potential method of gathering drill cutting data and identifying drill cuttings  101 , estimating the volume of the cuttings  101 , and/or estimating the shape of the cuttings  101 . 
     Disclosed embodiments relate to a system for monitoring volume of drilling cuttings, the system comprising a shaker table  105 , wherein the shaker table  105  may be adjusted based on information compiled by a processor  115 , at least one camera  110  configured to monitor said shaker table  105 , wherein the camera  110  is operably connected to a processor  115  and wherein said processor  115  is configured to identify drill cuttings  101  and estimate the volume of the cuttings  101  using machine vision techniques, and a processor  115 , wherein the processor  115  receives data from the at least one camera  110  and processes the data in order to identify drill cuttings  101  on the shaker table  105 . Some embodiments may further comprise distance sensing equipment  130  operably connected to the processor  115 , at least one sensor for detecting a predetermined parameter of a well circulatory system, and/or a well flow-in sensor  210 , flow-out sensor  215 , and pit volume sensor  220 . The system may also comprise a light source  120  arranged and designed to illuminate the shaker table  105  during diverse weather conditions and times of day, at least two cameras  110  configured to provide stereo vision, and/or at least two cameras  110  configured to monitor the shaker table  105  from significantly different angles. In some disclosed embodiments, the speed and/or angle of the shaker table  105  may be automatically adjusted based on information received from the processor  115  without human input. Disclosed embodiments may also comprise a bit depth sensor  225  among other sensors. 
     Disclose embodiments may also relate to a system for monitoring volume of drilling cuttings  110  exiting a shaker table  105 , the system comprising a shaker table screen  125 , at least one camera  110  configured to monitor the shaker table screen  125 , wherein the camera is operably connected to a processor  115  and wherein the processor  115  is configured to identify drill cuttings  101  and estimate the volume of the cuttings  101  on the screen  125  using machine vision techniques, and a processor  115 , wherein the processor  115  receives data from the at least one camera  110  and processes the data in order to identify drill cuttings  101  on the shaker table  105 . 
     Other embodiments may relate to a method of estimating the volume of drill cuttings  101  exiting a well, the method comprising the steps of: drilling into the earth  410 , wherein the drilling creates a bore hole and drill cuttings  101 , utilizing a liquid circulation system in order to remove drill cuttings from the bore hole  415 , depositing the drill cuttings on a shaker table  420 , monitoring the drill cuttings on the shaker table using at least one camera  425 , wherein the camera is operably connected to a processor, sending data from the camera to the processor  430 , and analyzing the data using the processor in order to identify the drill cuttings on the shaker table  435 . Embodiments may further comprise the step of estimating the volume of the drill cuttings  440  and/or estimating the shape of the drill cuttings  445 . 
     The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, and their equivalents, in which all terms are to be understood in their broadest possible sense unless otherwise indicated.