Devices, systems, and methods for stabilizing a gyroscopic sensor include bearings supporting a MEMS-type gyroscope located in a shell. The shell rotates around a secondary shaft connected to an extension arm of a primary shaft. A biasing element pre-loads thrust bearings on either side of the shell against the extension arm, which can limit motion of the shell during operation of the sensor, thereby improving measurements made by the sensor.

Some examples of transferring data from a subsurface of a wellbore using well fluids include positioning multiple data recording devices at a subsurface location in a wellbore. When a well fluid flows through the wellbore past the subsurface location to a surface, each data recording device is configured to receive and store data describing subsurface wellbore conditions at or near the subsurface location. At least a portion of the data describing the subsurface wellbore conditions are stored on each data recording device. Each data recording device is released from the subsurface location. The well fluid flows each data recording device to the surface.

Some systems and methods for determining depths of subterranean formation layer tops while drilling through the subterranean formation include a drill bit, a drill rig, a microphone, a depth sensor, and a processor. While drilling the through the subterranean formation, the processor receives a measured sound from the microphone and a measured drill bit depth from the depth sensor, normalizes the measured sound across all measured drill bit depths, determines frequency information of the normalized sound for each depth of the plurality of depths, determines frequency spectrums of the normalized sound for one or more depths of the plurality of depths, transforms the frequency spectrums into a depth spectrum, and determines the depths of subterranean formation layer tops based on the depth spectrum.

Some systems and methods for determining depths of subterranean formation layer tops while drilling through the subterranean formation include a drill bit, a drill rig, a microphone, a depth sensor, and a processor. While drilling the through the subterranean formation, the processor receives a measured sound from the microphone and a measured drill bit depth from the depth sensor, normalizes the measured sound across all measured drill bit depths, determines frequency information of the normalized sound for each depth of the plurality of depths, determines frequency spectrums of the normalized sound for one or more depths of the plurality of depths, transforms the frequency spectrums into a depth spectrum, and determines the depths of subterranean formation layer tops based on the depth spectrum.

An instrumented cutter including a polycrystalline diamond table bonded to a substrate with a sensor, for monitoring the condition of the polycrystalline compact diamond table, embedded in the substrate. Further the instrumented cutter includes a wireless transmitter equipped with a power supply to power to the wireless transmitter.

A drill bit for drilling a subterranean formation. The drill bit includes a drill bit body, at least one cutting element disposed on the drill bit body, and an optical sensor disposed on the drill bit body and configured to generate an environmental parameter measurement while drilling the subterranean formation. The optical sensor includes a fiber bragg grating embedded in an optical fiber that passes through a first channel in the drill bit body and a second channel in the drill string to couple to a surface logging station for analyzing the environmental parameter measurement, where the environmental parameter measurement represents at least a downhole chemical composition measured by the fiber bragg grating, and an analysis result of the surface logging station is presented to a user to facilitate a drilling operation.

A drill bit for drilling a subterranean formation. The drill bit includes a drill bit body, at least one cutting element disposed on the drill bit body, and an optical sensor disposed on the drill bit body and configured to generate an environmental parameter measurement while drilling the subterranean formation. The optical sensor includes a fiber bragg grating embedded in an optical fiber that passes through a first channel in the drill bit body and a second channel in the drill string to couple to a surface logging station for analyzing the environmental parameter measurement, where the environmental parameter measurement represents at least a downhole chemical composition measured by the fiber bragg grating, and an analysis result of the surface logging station is presented to a user to facilitate a drilling operation.

A crowding avoidance sub (CAS), in or above a bottom hole assembly (BHA), e.g., between drill string and BHA, sends sensor data over lines in a modified housing and flex lines accommodating and reporting relative axial motion between movable parts of a single sub, typically below a cushion, jar, or shock sub, possibly even a motor. Sensors connected to an Intellisys™ data connection system provide a data stream to a computer at the surface, and may include downhole preprocessing, but need not. The drive system of the hook feed rate is directly controlled in real time by a data station receiving, and operating based on, “travel” or “progress” information received from downhole sensors of the CAS indicating effectively instantly and electronically (rather than slower signals through drilling fluid) whenever the string progresses dangerously faster than the bit, and must be slowed or stopped.

A crowding avoidance sub (CAS), in or above a bottom hole assembly (BHA), e.g., between drill string and BHA, sends sensor data over lines in a modified housing and flex lines accommodating and reporting relative axial motion between movable parts of a single sub, typically below a cushion, jar, or shock sub, possibly even a motor. Sensors connected to an Intellisys™ data connection system provide a data stream to a computer at the surface, and may include downhole preprocessing, but need not. The drive system of the hook feed rate is directly controlled in real time by a data station receiving, and operating based on, “travel” or “progress” information received from downhole sensors of the CAS indicating effectively instantly and electronically (rather than slower signals through drilling fluid) whenever the string progresses dangerously faster than the bit, and must be slowed or stopped.

An earth-boring tool may include a tool body and a coupling region configured to couple the earth-boring tool to an adjacent portion of a drill string. The earth-boring tool may also include one or more sensors disposed on the tool body. The earth-boring tool may further include a connector disposed in the coupling region electrically connected to the one or more sensors. The connector may be configured to enable a removable connection from an external device to the one or more sensors.