OSIRIS is a highly innovative robotic solution for the detailed inspection of offshore wind turbine blades. By combining features of drones and climbing robots, OSIRIS will offer a flexible, safe and cost-effective solution to blade inspection offshore. It will alleviate the risks imposed on offshore technicians who typically carry out operations and maintenance tasks manually under hazardous conditions.
OSIRIS operates as both a drone and a climbing robot, with an ability to transition between the two modes. Therefore, it offers the benefits of each without the inherent limitations such as a drone’s inability to secure contact with the offshore turbine or a robot’s accessibility limitations. OSIRIS can operate in close proximity to a turbine blade to obtain high definition stand-off imagery, attach and transition to climbing mode for contact-based non-destructive testing (NDT), and then detach and return to drone mode before returning to shore.
As part of the 21-month demonstrator project, ORE Catapult will partner with robotics specialist Autonomous Devices, offshore energy giant Wood and NDT expert The Welding Institute. We will provide our Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine (LDT) for the testing and validation of the robotic solution. Located just metres off the coast of Fife, the 7MW turbine is the world’s largest and most advanced open access offshore wind turbine dedicated to research and demonstration. Since 2015, 119 SMEs have accessed the facility for technology development, testing or demonstration, providing an invaluable and unique facility for businesses to innovate, to prove new technologies and find vital routes to market. OSIRIS will join this growing list of innovators to trial its technology at our turbine.
In addition to access to the Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine, ORE Catapult will provide project management support to plan, monitor and control the delivery of the OSIRIS project.
