The Mission

Revolutionizing offshore wind turbine inspections by leveraging autonomous drones to enhance efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and prioritize safety.

Problem

Offshore wind turbines play a vital role in generating renewable energy but are located in remote and harsh marine environments. To ensure they operate efficiently, regular inspection and maintenance are essential. Currently, the industry depends on helicopters and ships to transport personnel to these turbines. This approach is slow, expensive, emits significant carbon emissions, and poses considerable safety risks. When a turbine requires inspection—due to bird strikes, storm damage, or routine wear—a complex logistical operation is needed to bring crews to the site. Technicians often have to rappel down turbine blades or manually operate drones on-site, necessitating their physical presence on the turbine. This exposes them to hazardous conditions, including unpredictable weather and the dangers of working at great heights over open water. The financial costs are substantial. Deploying helicopters and ships involves high fuel consumption, crew wages, and maintenance expenses. Coordinating these missions demands meticulous planning, factoring in weather conditions and equipment availability. Delays are common, leading to turbines being offline longer than necessary, resulting in lost energy production and revenue. As offshore wind farms expand—some with over 100 turbines spread across hundreds of square kilometers—the inefficiencies and costs escalate dramatically. Environmental impact is another significant concern. Using fossil fuel-powered helicopters and ships generates considerable carbon emissions, undermining the environmental benefits of wind energy. This contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions and contradicts the core objective of renewable energy projects: providing clean and sustainable power. Safety risks are inherent in the current approach. Transporting personnel over open seas and having them work on towering structures exposes them to significant dangers. Accidents can result from falls, equipment failures, or incidents during transit. The industry has recorded numerous safety incidents, leading to increased scrutiny and a pressing need for better protective measures. In summary, existing methods for offshore wind turbine inspection are unsustainable due to high costs, environmental impact, and safety hazards. There is an urgent need for innovative solutions that reduce operational expenses, minimize emissions, and enhance personnel safety.

The Solution

Our solution is an autonomous drone system designed to inspect offshore wind turbines. When inspection is needed, a drone stationed on an existing offshore platform within the wind farm is deployed. Upon reaching the turbine, it performs thermal and optical inspections within minutes—all while the turbine remains operational. The collected data is processed on our remote server, where AI models detect issues like delamination and cracks, that traditional methods might miss or detect much later. Our solution significantly reduces inspection costs, carbon emissions, and safety risks. Scalable to larger wind farms, it represents a transformative step for turbine inspections.