HOUSTON, Jan. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — DrillDocs, the leader in digital shale shaker surveillance, announced the granting of US patent 12,525,017 – further strengthening its intellectual property portfolio in object imaging and detection systems. This patent covers breakthrough methods for using adaptive and multiple regions of interest (ROIs) to track objects as they fall from the edge of a shale shaker—enabling more accurate, real-time analysis of drilled cuttings and setting a new standard for operational insight in drilling environments.

​

The patented technology leverages a multi-stage computer vision approach, allowing DrillDocs’ CleanSight® system to extract a richer set of attributes from a single flow of cuttings with unprecedented accuracy. By dynamically identifying and tracking multiple ROIs, CleanSight® can monitor the trajectory of relevant objects while minimizing computational overhead. This innovation also unlocks three-dimensional measurement estimation using just a single camera and point-of-view.

​

“Securing this patent is a testament to our team’s relentless drive to solve real-world drilling challenges with practical, operator-focused technology,” said Calvin Holt, CEO of DrillDocs. “Our mission is to deliver new streams of data that empower drilling teams to make faster, safer, and more informed decisions. This latest innovation will be invisible to our customers, but the impact of sophisticated computer vision on drilling performance and risk reduction is profound. We’re proud to continue setting the pace for this type of digital transformation in the oilfield.”

​

DrillDocs CTO, Mert Geveci, added: “What’s most significant about these inventions is our ability to deliver high-fidelity, real-time object tracking and 3D measurement using a single, edge-enabled camera. By combining adaptive ROI selection with multi-stage computer vision, we’re able to extract more actionable insights from challenging shaker environments, without disrupting rig operations. This is a leap forward in technical capability without compromising operational simplicity.”

​

The new patent further differentiates CleanSight® as the industry’s most advanced digital shaker surveillance platform, providing drilling teams with real-time, actionable data to optimize rate of penetration, reduce non-productive time, and enhance wellbore stability.

Dr. Geveci is a proven technology leader with over 15 years of experience in the energy sector, ranging from research and development to field support, product development, and product requisition. He previously held progressively complex positions at Malta, GE, and Cummins, bringing new products to market, driving efficiencies, building high-performing teams, and delivering business value through portfolio growth and strategic, cross-functional partnerships.

At DrillDocs, Dr. Geveci will focus on defining and executing the company’s technical roadmap – including system architecture, cloud infrastructure, data management, system reliability, and cybersecurity – while co-founder, Francois Ruel, moves into the Chief Science Officer role, focused on driving innovation and intellectual property development.

Lee, who has worked for the company in a fractional capacity since October 2024, brings extensive startup experience to the CFO role, having played key leadership roles in multiple early-stage companies in the B2B SaaS, medtech, and cleantech domains.

As full-time CFO, he will focus on capital discipline and smart deployment of the company’s funds, maintaining a healthy financial position as it navigates rapid growth and begins working for more complex customers, such as national oil companies.

“Our continued growth as an emerging, global SaaS provider in the offshore drilling sector requires building a talented, industry-hardened team,” said Calvin Holt, founder and CEO of DrillDocs. “The skills and experience that Mert brings to the team will be critical to delivering effective, valuable products and services to our growing customer base. Meanwhile, Eric has already demonstrated his ability to take us from bootstrapping startup to a professionally and efficiently financed business, and we’re delighted that he is joining us on a full-time basis.”

“These important hires reinforce DrillDocs commitment to delivering enhanced drilling performance and safety to blue chip operators around the globe,” added DrillDocs Chairman, Garret Holt. “As our technology continues to mature, we see it becoming a part of standard drilling practices on offshore and high-risk wells world-wide, and it will take a world-class team to manage that growth trajectory.”​​

The news has been reported by leading oilfield publications, including:

• Oilfield Technology Magazine: DrillDocs uses AI-enabled computer vision on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for the first time
• Offshore Engineer Magazine: Aker BP Employs DrillDocs’ AI-Enabled Solution to Enhance Wellbore Stability
• Drilling Contractor Magazine: DrillDocs delivers AI-enabled wellbore stability management
• Infomarine.net: Aker BP Employs DrillDocs’ AI-Enabled Solution to Enhance Wellbore Stability

The piece, authored by DrillDocs’ marketing advisor, Matt Bell, describes how the technology is being developed in partnership with leading operators, including Aker BP, who recently became the first company to remotely detect wellbore cavings using computer vision.​​​​

You can read or download the article here (PDF, 5MB).

Titled “Seeing the Unseen: Computer Vision in Action,” the piece authored by Jennifer Pallanich references SPE paper 220,985, published by Exxon’s Principal Borehole Management Engineer, Shekhar V. Gosavi, at SPE’s 2024 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition.

​​

The article cites Gosavi describing measures of hole cleaning using traditional approaches as “still in the art phase, with the accuracy of measurements varying by plus or minus 20%,” which he went on to describe as “not acceptable.”

​

Explaining how Exxon evaluated DrillDocs’ CleanSight technology, Gosavi is quoted as saying that the trial showed how an optical camera can measure the volume of cuttings returned to the shaker and that real-time cuttings-returns analysis using computer vision could “enable increased drilling speed and lower risks.”

 

Gosavi concluded that the technology “has the potential to significantly reduce the nonproductive time associated with circulating and mitigating packoff events, effectively addressing inadequacies in current cuttings-transport modeling and hole-cleaning practices.”

​​

The full article is available via One Petro.

The company’s camera-based computer vision technology was deployed on a contracted jack-up rig while drilling a 1000 m, 12¼-in. hole section on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

​

DrillDocs CleanSight® system employs Axis Communications’ cameras designed for hazardous environments, which feature onboard processing capability for real-time image analysis. DrillDocs patented and proprietary image-processing algorithms continuously monitor drilled cuttings exiting the rig’s solids control system, calculating the amount and size distribution of recovered drilled solids. This provides valuable information about hole cleaning performance, borehole stability, and solids control equipment operations.

​

Before introducing DrillDocs’ technology, the rig equipment that separates drilled solids from drilling mud—known as “shale shakers”—was only monitored periodically by drilling staff making visual inspections. This new approach allows the rig team to react in near real-time to events happening in the wellbore.

​

“Our technology captures and interprets unique and vital information about the drilling process that would otherwise go unreported,” said Calvin Holt, founder and CEO of DrillDocs. “By combining advances in camera technology and computer vision, we’re able to spot drilling issues as they are occurring and allow drilling teams to take corrective action before they become much bigger problems.”

​

“This strategic milestone is testimony to AkerBP’s commitment to enhancing drilling performance and safety through the application of cutting-edge technology,” commented Knut Eugen Svendsen, Rig Superintendent at Aker BP in Stavanger. “As this technology continues to mature, we foresee it becoming part of standard drilling practice on offshore and high-risk wells worldwide.”

Fernando Assing – Centurion Group, President and CEO  |  LinkedIn

​Fernando is an expert in the EPC and Oilfield Service industries, with over 30 years of experience in senior management roles in marketing, business development, commercial, project management, and operations management. As President and CEO of Tesco, he led the sale of the company in 2017 in an all-stock transaction, and before that spent 12 years with Schlumberger in various roles across the world, including IPM Global Commercial & BD Manager. He currently serves as CEO of Centurion Group and on the board of Enerflex (EFX).

​

Gary Kolstad – Morpheus LLC, Chairman and Co-Founder  |  LinkedIn

Gary brings 38 years of global experience in Oilfield Services. This includes assignments living abroad and managing multiple product and service lines. Before co-founding Morpheus LLC, he served as CEO for 14 years at CARBO, a public technology company with global operations and manufacturing. Before that, he worked 21 years at Schlumberger in senior management, field operations, marketing and sales, and technology deployment positions. He co-founded Morpheus LLC to address his passion for mentoring entrepreneurs and to invest in new technology trends to drive profitable business growth.

​

Don Conkle – Morpheus LLC, Director and Co-Founder  |  LinkedIn

As director of Morpheus, Don specializes in bringing oil & gas technology start-ups from the technology development stage to commercialization and profitability. Prior to co-founding Morpheus, Don spent 11 years in marketing & sales/business development and as President & CEO of CARBO. He started his career in Schlumberger and held many global, international and domestic positions over 26 years. These positions included business line & OFS geographic management, Human Resource, strategic marketing, M&A, business development and technology development/deployment.

​

This groundbreaking achievement marks the industry’s first-ever utilization of computer vision cameras on a shale shaker during offshore drilling operations, heralding a new era of enhanced drilling efficiency and safety.

 

​Under the year-long contract, DrillDocs’ CleanSight® camera will be used on the rig for a 10-month period, followed by a two-month review of the technology’s performance and benefits. The contract between DrillDocs and ENI was signed in April 2023, marking DrillDoc’s first paid offshore trial. The cameras were installed aboard the SAIPEM Santorini on August 3, 2023, in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

“We appreciate ENI’s confidence in our technology and are proud to be working with an operator that leads the industry in innovation,” said Calvin Holt, DrillDocs CEO.

 

DrillDocs has also been contracted by two other international drilling operators to deploy CleanSight® for paid trials. These trials are expected to begin by the end of 2023