Robot remotely inspects and repairs critical infrastructure in offshore wind turbines

A joint effort between UK-based universal robotic system BladeBUG and innovation and research centre Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, has developed an advanced robot to assist technicians in the inspection and repair of wind turbine blades. BladeBUG was founded by former blade engineer Chris Ciesla, and is financed by Innovate UK.

The turbine-inspecting robot is a six-legged inspect-and-repair bot. In November 2020, the technology was tested at ORE Catapult’s 7MW Levenmouth demonstration turbine off the coast of Fife. The process was carried out over a period of two days, and covered 50 metres on a vertically positioned blade. The tests showed strong adherence by the robot’s vacuum-padded feet to the blade’s surfaces, as well as successful transmission of data from blade scans and a live video feed to technicians.

Springwise