Engineers equip robots to fight wild sea waves, slashing offshore energy costs
Conventional robotic solutions use a corrective action approach that does not work in all conditions to stabilize the bots.
Autonomously working robots stationed on offshore platforms can predict waves and facilitate more efficient operation of energy-generating equipment. New computational tools developed by researchers at the University of Edinburgh could help these robots work even in turbulent seas, delivering safety and cost-effectiveness at the same time, a press release said.
Offshore wind platforms are a major source of clean energy for countries looking to move away from fossil fuels. Unlike their onshore counterparts, offshore wind turbines are larger and can tap into high-speed winds at sea.
Work is also ongoing to develop tidal wave energy converters that can serve as a more reliable and continuous source of energy. But working in these harsh conditions has its downfalls. Worker safety is a prime concern, while environmental conditions demand that energy-generating infrastructure be serviced in a timely manner.
This is where robots can help, but the unpredictable nature of waves makes it difficult to deploy robots in such conditions. The tools developed by researchers at the University of Edinburgh address this shortcoming while helping reduce the costs of generating clean, green energy.
What did the researchers do?
The computational and experimental tools developed by the engineering team at Edinburgh help autonomous robots maintain steady positions even when encountering irregular waves.
“A major limitation at present is robots robots ability to perceive and counteract environmental disturbances effectively, which fundamentally restricts the current use of small subsea vehicles,” explained Kyle Walker, a doctoral candidate at the University who was involved in the work.
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Never thought I see the day where AI is doing all the work on its own. Did you say predict waves on its own. The sea can now be safer for most. Assuming this comes earlier than expected, we'll have robots do the Baywatch work instead