Underwater robots launched from crewless vessels could become the new repairmen for Scotland’s offshore wind farms under pioneering new plans.
Piloted remotely from onshore, the machines will carry out inspections and maintenance of turbines without risking worker safety.
The electric remotely operated vehicles (eROVs) are being developed by the National Robotarium, based in Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, the UK’s leading AI and Robotics hub
Current industry methods involve vessels travelling into areas of open ocean where a mix of trained divers and ship-based crews manually inspect offshore wind facilities or deploying tele-operated robots to repair individual turbines.
The £1.4million project, delivered by researchers from Heriot-Watt and Imperial College London, aims to dramatically improve worker health and safety by reducing the need for these potentially hazardous missions.
The eROVs will have the ability to map underwater environments as well as navigate changing currents and rough seas.
Prof Yvan Petillot, academic co-lead at the National Robotarium and principal investigator for the 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."
The research will be carried out in partnership with Fugro, the world’s leading Geo-data specialist - with the robots to be deployed from Fugro’s innovative uncrewed surface vessels (USVs).
Mark Bruce from the firm said: “As the expansion and influence of marine robotics stretches ever further across the marine industry, we are committed to leading the industry’s remote and autonomous revolution.”
The UK currently has more than 11,000 offshore wind assets around its shores, with thousands more planned by 2050.
Scotland’s current offshore wind capacity is around 2 gigawatts (GW) - but there are plans to at least quadruple this to 8-11GW by 2030.
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On average, each turbine requires up to three check-ups per year and this figure increases as turbines age and require more maintenance to stay operational. When applied to the whole of the UK’s offshore wind sector, this translates into potentially hundreds of thousands of crewed maintenance missions annually.
These are costly for business, generate emissions and present a safety risk for workers.
Westminster and Holyrood have both backed the £22million state-of-the-art National Robotarium with funding.
UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said: "This pioneering research into remote robotic systems will create the next generation of underwater technologies that will reduce carbon emissions, increase productivity and make offshore work safer.
Scottish Government Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said: “Delivering on our climate obligations is an absolute priority for this Government – but so too is our unwavering commitment to ensuring the journey to net zero is fair and just for everyone.”
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