Electric remotely operated vehicles (eROVs) that perform maintenance and repair tasks on offshore wind turbines are being developed by the National Robotarium in partnership with Fugro.
The companies are working closely together in the £1.4m Underwater Intervention for Offshore Renewable Energies (UNITE) project.
UNITE aims to improve health and safety in the offshore wind industry by reducing the need for potentially hazardous offshore maintenance missions conducted by crewed support vessels.
The remotely operated robotic systems will address a number of additional sector challenges including supporting industry to reduce carbon emissions, improve offshore turbine productivity through reduced downtime, and make maintenance and repair exercises more cost-effective and timely.
The UK has more than 11,000 offshore wind assets around its shores, with thousands more planned by 2050.
On average, each turbine requires up to three maintenance check-ups per year and this figure increases as turbines age and require more maintenance to stay fully operational.
Typical industry maintenance methods involve vessels travelling into and working in areas of open ocean where a mix of trained divers and ship-based crews manually inspect and or deploy tele-operated robots for repair of individual wind turbines.
In addition to supporting the uncrewed and remotely operated vessels, the research project will help develop autonomous and semi-autonomous ROVs capable of conducting subsea inspection, maintenance and repair tasks which can be monitored onshore whilst remotely deployed and operated from anywhere in the world.
Researchers will specifically focus on developing technologies which allow robots to build more accurate maps of the subsea terrain to better navigate obstacles and targets.
The project will also explore how robots autonomously interact with underwater structures, such as grasping or moving objects, whilst being subject to external forces like changing currents or rough seas.
The project will be delivered by researchers from Heriot-Watt University and Imperial College London working within the National Robotarium, the UK’s AI and Robotics centre, in collaboration with Fugro and funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation.
Yvan Petillot, academic co-lead at the National Robotarium and principal investigator of the UNITE project, said: “We’re only a generation away from our obligation to deliver on our net zero promises by 2050 and 2045 in Scotland, so can’t afford to let the challenges faced by the offshore renewables sector slow down the construction and operation of essential, green energy assets like wind turbines.
“Remote inspection and repair using robotic systems deployed in the field and controlled from shore is within our grasp.
“The long-term ambition is for crewless boats to be able to do this autonomously without direct human control based on a predetermined maintenance cycle – critical if we’re to see the widespread adoption of robotics in the rapidly expanding offshore wind sector.”