AGR Petroleum Services developing touch PC software
Software, Oct  28  2009 (Digital Energy Journal)

- AGR Petroleum Services (AGR) has launched a collaboration with UK IT firm Codify to consider ways of using multi-touch computers in the energy industry.

The working group, called Envision, has been set up in response to a major lack of software applications for the computers which only became available on the UK market in March.

Multi-touch computers such as Microsoft Surface, which the company has recently acquired, respond to natural hand movements and real-world objects. Without a need for a keyboard or mouse, they encourage people to interact with digital content in a simple and intuitive way.

A key focus of the group, which also plans to work closely with students from Robert Gordon University’s IDEAS Research Institute, will be to develop a new tool which will allow engineering teams to step away from a computer screen and instead take a hands-on approach to interacting with information and data.

It is anticipated the technology will provide a real alternative to expensive visualisation rooms which engineers currently use during planning stages of projects.

The Envision Working Group is coordinated by AGR’s Vice President of Information Technology, Chris Ferrier and Codify’s Managing Director, Mark Griffiths, with support from AGR’s subsurface and well management engineers and IT experts as well as input from Codify’s programmers.

They will be creating bespoke software applications for Surface which will provide a cost effective solution to visualisation rooms. The technology is expected to become a key tool for AGR’s own engineers with a view to rolling it out to the market place at a later date.

The development process is already underway with the first software application expected to undergo trials by spring 2010.

Codify

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