The National Robotarium is supporting the development of new Artificial Intelligence and control systems that could enable underwater robots to operate autonomously in turbulent seas, potentially revolutionising maintenance and repair tasks for offshore wind turbines.
The UNITE project, an EPSRC Prosperity Partnership programme led by Heriot-Watt University in collaboration with Imperial College London, is creating new Artificial Intelligence and control systems in partnership with geo-data specialist Fugro and Heriot-Watt University spinout Frontier Robotics, supported by the National Robotarium, the UK’s centre for robotics and AI.
The project demonstrates the National Robotarium’s role in bringing together established companies and emerging innovators. Through its laboratories and testing infrastructure, the facility enables rapid development and validation of commercial solutions. The technology being developed could reduce standard data collection time from three weeks to just three hours.
“Our trials are showing promising results in enabling underwater robots to maintain stable contact with offshore structures in challenging conditions,” said David Morrison, Project Manager at the National Robotarium. “If successful, the technology could transform offshore wind maintenance, reducing fuel consumption of maintenance missions by up to 97% – from 7,000 litres per day to just 200 litres. This could significantly lower both operational costs and the carbon footprint of maintenance.”