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Robots have become common in warehouses across America. Warehouses are centers where products are stored and organized before they are sent to buyers. Manufacturers of robots say the machines can do the most repetitive and difficult jobs. But critics warn that they are also creating new forms of stress and even injuries.

High-quality images of reservoirs are essential for teams making decisions about where to explore for, or produce, oil and gas. The main challenge for the industry is how to obtain the best images in the shortest time, more cost-effectively.

To find oil and gas resources we use a range of geophysical imaging technologies. Seismic reflection imaging remains the most widely-used geophysical technique in hydrocarbon exploration.

First, we capture echoes using advanced sensors as the waves pass through, or bounce off (反射), the rock and sediment deep underground. We place many sensors over a wide area to record waves from different angles to provide the best picture from beneath the surface in the site we are surveying.

Second, we process the vast amounts of seismic data we have gathered with high-performance computers using advanced algorithms (计算程序) to produce an accurate geological map of the site we are investigating.

And third, we use visualisation software to turn the data into images that can be analysed and interpreted by scientists quickly and efficiently. This ability to visualise and interpret billions of signals lies behind our biggest successes in oil and gas exploration.