The UK has achieved the world’s first walk by a robot on an offshore wind turbine blade, as part of a project involving the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.
Over two days in mid-October, the six-legged inspect-and-repair robot repeatedly scaled blades at ORE Catapult’s 7MW Levenmouth Demonstration turbine off the coast of Fife, Scotland.
The robot is being developed under a £1m collaboration project between start-up BladeBUG and ORE Catapult, part funded by Innovate UK.
During the demonstration, the robot walked 50 metres on a vertically positioned blade on the Levenmouth turbine.
The technology could deliver a 30% cost reduction on current blade inspection techniques, which are conducted by rope-access technicians, helping push down the levelised cost of energy of offshore wind.
For next generation turbines, ORE Catapult predicts the cost savings could be as high as 50%.
These costs have traditionally been one of the primary areas of concern for offshore operators, as sea conditions and faster tip speeds can lead to significant blade damage over time, ORE Catapult said.
The capabilities demonstrated during the trial included “perfect adherence” of the robot’s vacuum-padded feet to blade surfaces in offshore conditions and the ability to navigate the varying curvature of blade surfaces in a variety of scenarios.
The trial also enabled transmission of data from blade scans and live video feed to technicians demonstrating the BladeBUG’s navigational abilities and placement of feet on changing surfaces.
ORE Catapult operational performance director Chris Hill said: “I consider BladeBUG’s first walk at Levenmouth as offshore wind’s ‘moon walk’ – a historic milestone in the industry’s evolution.
“Robotics are here to stay, and they will be an essential ingredient to operating ever-expanding wind farms, deeper-water sites and faster, bigger turbines in the coming years.”
BladeBUG CEO Chris Cieslak added: “This is such a historic moment for us as a company. It has been so exciting to see results of months of work and development in action and this latest test marks the huge progress we have made.
“In a little over a year we have gone from designing and testing our first prototype, to taking our first tentative steps with our Mark I robot, to now, seeing the BladeBUG robot walk along the blade of an actual offshore wind turbine. We cannot wait to perform further trials and demonstrate the capabilities further offshore.”
The robot is also a key component of the £4.2m MIMRee project.
During MIMRee trials in 2021 BladeBUG will work in collaboration with an autonomous vessel and teams of drones, using a robotic arm to clean and resurface damaged blades.