Amphibious robot for inspection and predictive maintenance of offshore wind assets-IFROG

UK and EU governments have committed to ensuring 20% of total energy consumption is sourced from renewables by 2020. Diminishing fossil fuel resources and adverse environmental impacts of other sources of energy is driving growth of wind farms, especially offshore wind farms as they deliver better performance per turbine due to better wind conditions and do not compete with agricultural land use. Reducing operation & maintenance (O&M) costs remains a key priority for offshore wind industry. Foundation maintenance alone accounts for ~65% of O&M costs. InnoTecUK (robotic and automation solution provider) is partnering with two renowned research & technology organizations (TWI Ltd and Brunel Innovation Centre -BIC) and end-user (The Underwater Centre -TUC) to develop and demonstrate an automated system (iFROG) for inspecting and streamlining maintenance of offshore wind assets. The new system will reduce maintenance costs by 50%, saving £150k p.a. per turbine. This will improve the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of offshore wind; encouraging future investment and benefiting energy security and the environment.