source: LORTEK

TECHNOLOGIES

Aerospace and robotic technologies together with composites and additive manufacturing, are developing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

technological approach

Previous innovative developments and already available breakthrough technologies will be transferred and adapted to address the problematic of reducing inspection & repair costs in Solar and Wind infrastructures.

Predictive and preventive 0&M

During WP5, approaches for control and surveillance such as non-destructive testing (NDT) by robots (UAVs or UGVs), contact inspection (ultrasonic, thermographic), autonomous and intelligent navigation will be applied.

source: US

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

  • Inspection: Visual inspection
  • Adaptation of required inspection methods and implementation onto the equipped UAV (thermography)
  • Aerial navigation for UAVs
  • Non contact monitoring of RF frequency fields
source: FADA-CATEC

Nondestructive Testing (NDT)

  • Thermography
  • Ultrasonic techniques
  • Eddy-current techniques
  • Radio Emission Spectroscopy techniques
  • Proposed solution: Thermographic and visual inspections of wind blades using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
source: IST

Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV)

  • Cleaning
  • Inspection: Adaptation of NDTs to UGVs for inspection tasks.
  • Ground navigation technologies and ground support for aerial robots
  • UAV power recharging on mobile UGV-based stations
  • Wide-area wireless communications by using the UGVs as repeaters
source: ESTIA

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

  • Definition of virtual and augmented reality environments, designed to help the operator to control robotic platforms, both aerial and on the ground.
  • Virtual and augmented reality for robots control: both aerial and ground: virtual and augmented reality cockpit to control a UAV or a mobile robot proof of concept

Corrective O&M

WP6 will analyze manufacturing technologies to enhance maintenance from the aerospace and manufacturing areas (water jet reparation, additive manufacturing, predictive algorithms, virtual and augmented reality).

source: LORTEK

Additive manufacturing (AM)

Repair of damaged parts:

  • Material deposition processes with LMD2 target parts of the nacelle or solar panels

Manufacturing of broken or spare parts:

  • High complexity geometries with SLM, including redesign possibilities
source: ESTIA

Automated composites repair technology

  • Analysis and adaptation of different damage regimes of a turbine blade
  • Demonstrator: Automated repair machining & persistent manual tasks of a turbine blade
  • Laser-jet: automated composites repair technology (e.g. water jet technology) in Wind Turbine Blades
source: ESTIA

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

  • How to create a natural interaction with a robot arm to manipulate objects or realize a standard maintenance task.
  • Virtual and augmented reality for using robots in persistent manual tasks

WP7 will demonstrate the implementation feasibility of these pilot’s innovative solutions in at least 3-4 regions thanks to transnational cooperation.

The project will design pilot operations accounting for the final technologies used and tested in the other WPs and the characteristics of the host wind/solar installations.

source: ALERION

Wind demo: pilot validation / demonstration in wind farm

source: INGETEAM

Solar demo: pilot validation / demonstration in solar farm

source: EDP

Solar demo: pilot validation / view from a drone