Utility Week

36 | JUNE 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Analysis Do androids dream of electric heat? Introducing the robots infiltrating utilities The machine uprising isn't confined to hi-tech labs or the cinema, it's taking place in our pipes, water courses, wind turbines and streetworks. Utility Week Innovate profiles five robotic innovations. T he rise of the machines is well under- way. According to YouGov research, almost one-in-ten (7%) Brits believe that today's robots have already developed higher intelligence levels than humans – with 44% believing they will surpass our intellect in the not-too-distant future. YouGov also found that two-thirds (66%) of Brits would be happy for a robot or AI (artificial intelligence) to administer some form of medical treatment – with a quarter claiming they'd trust AI in an urgent or inten- sive care scenario; 37% would go under the robot-wielded knife in AI-assisted surgery. Greater reliance on AI and robots is also on the utility sector's horizon as the drive for renewable energy and decarbonisation forces industry players to innovate in hos- tile offshore and underground settings, for example, and hastens machine intervention to maintain and measure the performance of hard-to-reach assets. Ultimately, how can the sector harness the same autonomous and semi-autono- mous technology already in train in other industries to meet tomorrow's targets, and what collaborative innovation has already taken place? In the run-up to last month's Utility Week Live exhibition in Birmingham, Utility Week Innovate tracked down some real-life appli- cations of robots and AI in utility settings. BladeBug – a world first turbine blade runner BladeBug is a six-legged cyber-critter created to inspect and repair turbine blades – a task that currently requires human intervention in o'en hazardous offshore conditions. Over a three-day trial in 2021, it carried out the world's first robotic "blade walk" controlled by a rope operator perched on an offshore wind turbine's nacelle and using onboard cameras to perform checks along an 80m blade beyond the engineer's line of sight. By carrying out detailed analysis of blade damage and feeding back images and data, the bot can support proactive, informed deci- sions leading to comprehensive maintenance – thereby reducing downtime and increasing the generational power of an offshore array. Additionally, while the BladeBug's first crawl saw it carry out a fairly standard light- ning protection systems check, its creators are now attempting to arm the bug with further tools so to treat defects before the need to deploy a traditional rope access team – a process that will hinge on future collaboration. "From almost the very beginning, we have been working with the Offshore Renewable Energy [ORE] Catapult by taking full advan- tage of their testing facilities at the Port of Blyth and using their industry knowledge, which has been invaluable," founder Chris Cieslak says. "And as with any solution, BladeBug is being continually adapted and improved to provide a huge array of capabili- ties for the ever-growing sector, and moving from semi-autonomous to full autonomy is certainly on its radar." One result of such collaboration is the EchoBoltBug. Funded by Innovate UK and built in tandem with GE Renewables and the ORE Catapult, the project combines Blade- Bug with EchoBolt's ultrasonic technology to inspect wind turbine bolts and identify loss of tension. The robot has already suc- BladeBug has been designed to inspect wind turbine blades, a hazardous job for humans

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