Introduced earlier this year by Schlumberger, a trio of hydraulic fracturing systems represent one of the latest steps toward a more automated oilfield.

This new hardware is already working in the North American unconventional sector where the world’s largest service company says the growing intensity of horizontal well programs demands that the next wave of fracturing technology come loaded to bear with sensors and real-time data streaming capabilities.

Dubbed an “automated stimulation delivery system,” its three main pieces are a vertical silo system for sand or proppant management, a process trailer for blending and hydration, and a missile manifold that channels pressurized fracturing fluids into the wellhead. Prototypes of each system spent a year in the field before entering commercial service, and during that time, helped send almost a billion pounds of sand down horizontal wells.