Applications of robotics in floating offshore wind farm operations and maintenance: Literature review and trends

Khalid, Omer; Hao, Guangbo; Desmond, Cian; Macdonald, Hamish; McAuliffe, Fiona Devoy; Dooly, Gerard; Hu, Weifei

doi:10.1002/we.2773

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…As previously discussed under Section 1, autonomous systems deployment has been applied in various renewable energy applications, such as in [27][28][29]. However, due to the emerging nature of the applications, safety measures are usually considered only at the RAID device level, based on the risk analysis of the operator/company and not at a standardized system integration level code of conduct.…”

Section: Safe Autonomy and Solar Photovoltaicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Drones in Solar Photovoltaic Energy Applications—Safe Autonomy Perspective

Olayiwola,

Elsden,

Dhimish

2024

Safety

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While there is evidence of substantial improvement in efficiency and cost reduction from the integration of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Drones (RAID) in solar installations; it is observed that there is limited oversight by international standards such as the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in terms of the hazards and untapped potentials. This is partly because it is an emerging application and generally burdened with social acceptability issues. Thus, the safety regulations applied are adaptations of device-specific regulations as deemed fit by individual companies. Also, due to the fast-paced technological development of these platforms, there is huge potential for applications that are not currently supported by the device-specific regulations. This creates a multi-faceted demand for the establishment of standardized, industry-wide polices and guidelines on the use of RAID platforms for Solar PV integrations. This work aims to address critical safety concerns by conducting a comprehensive high-level system examination applicable to the monitoring and maintenance of Solar PV systems. Standard safety assurance models and approaches are examined to provide a safe autonomy perspective for Solar PVs. It is considered that, as RAID applications continue to evolve and become more prevalent in the Solar PV industry, standardized protocols or policies would be established to ensure safe and reliable operations.

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Section: Safe Autonomy and Solar Photovoltaicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Drones in Solar Photovoltaic Energy Applications—Safe Autonomy Perspective

Olayiwola,

Elsden,

Dhimish

2024

Safety

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“…While the situation at the seafloor can be considered similar to the oil and gas scenario, the splash zone poses additional challenges. Highly turbulent currents around structures as well as waves pose high demands on the control of a robot in order to achieve station keeping, which will be one of the requirements in several phases of the maintenance or inspection tasks ( Khalid et al, 2022 ). The required control strategies for this area of application are a current field of research.…”

Section: Requirements For Autonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Inspection and maintenance of industrial infrastructure with autonomous underwater robots

Nauert,

Kampmann

2023

Front. Robot. AI

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Underwater infrastructure, such as pipelines, requires regular inspection and maintenance including cleaning, welding of defects and valve-turning or hot-stabbing. At the moment, these tasks are mostly performed by divers and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) but the use of intervention Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (intervention-AUVs) can greatly reduce operation time, risk, and cost. However, autonomous underwater manipulation has not yet reached a high technological readiness and is an intensively researched topic. This review identifies key requirements based on necessary inspection and maintenance methods, linking them to the current technology and deriving major challenges which need to be addressed in development. These include the handling of tools, where a separation between handheld and mounted tools is detected in already employed underwater intervention vehicles such as the Sabertooth by Saab Seaeye or the Aquanaut by Nauticus robotics, two vehicles capable of semi-autonomous intervention. The main challenge identified concerns high level autonomy, i.e., the process of decision-making. This process includes detecting the correct point of interest, maximizing the workspace of the manipulator, planning the manipulation considering required forces, and monitoring the progress to allow for corrections and high quality results. In order to overcome these issues, reliable close range sensing and precise end point navigation is needed. By identifying these persisting challenges, the paper provides inspiration for further development directions in the field of autonomous underwater intervention.

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“…Depending on the features of structural components, robots have a variety of climbing mechanisms. Some of the recent studies on wind-turbine-climbing robots' application [2,[18][19][20][21][23][24][25] use experimental prototypes. One of the applications of a magnetic climbing robot is for the inspection and maintenance of a wind tower, using magnets to keep it in contact with the tower [2].…”

Section: Wt Physical Defects Description Referencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Wind-Turbine-Tower-Climbing Robot Prototype Operating at Various Speeds and Payload Capacity: Development and Validation

Padrigalan

Liu

2023

Applied Sciences

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The development of control technology on wind turbine application robots has played an integral role in facilitating the digitization of inspection and maintenance in the wind energy industry. This paper presents a wind-turbine-climbing robot that determines the service lifespan of the wind turbine components subject to its payload capacity. The model has four rubber wheels, as the driving mechanism for its locomotion is being supported by a Bowden cable as a winding mechanism for its adhesion. The design further incorporates an Arduino microcontroller, distance sensors, motors, and a step motor to form its electromechanical structure. The overall capability of the robot has been analyzed through its kinematics and dynamics. Practical indoor experiments using a wind turbine tower mockup have been conducted for the validation of the various speeds and payload capacity of the prototype. The results indicate the effectiveness of its driving and winding mechanism to climb at the various speeds and with or without a payload. The advantage of the operations of its mechanism conformed with the wind turbine application robots.

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Applications of robotics in floating offshore wind farm operations and maintenance: Literature review and trends

Cited by 14 publications

References 90 publications

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Drones in Solar Photovoltaic Energy Applications—Safe Autonomy Perspective

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Drones in Solar Photovoltaic Energy Applications—Safe Autonomy Perspective

Inspection and maintenance of industrial infrastructure with autonomous underwater robots

A Wind-Turbine-Tower-Climbing Robot Prototype Operating at Various Speeds and Payload Capacity: Development and Validation

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