Page 21: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Jul/Aug 2020)

20 22

TRANSFORM

BY ELAINE MASLIN

OBOTS &

R

OBOTICS have slowly been entering our lives, in various shapes and forms (and fictional characters), from self-driving household vacuum cleaners to highly automated manufacturing systems.

Now they’re heading for the offshore world – in just as many shapes and forms. here could be a lot to gain from specialized. Automated pipe handling robotics, but platforms and off- systems and robotic roughnecks have shore wind turbine structures been introduced to drill ?oors more are also very challenging places recently (OE November 2016: Batter-

T to put them on. For oil and gas, key ies not included). In the past few years, drivers are around safety and cost. For aerial drones and magnetic hull crawling the offshore wind sector, the sheer vol- robots have become part of the offshore ume of structures being installed is driv- inspection tool kit, also mostly with a ing a push for robotic systems to do in- human operator. In fact, this May saw spection, maintenance, and repair work the ?rst delivery by drone to an offshore safely, ef?ciently, and cost-effectively. vessel (the Pioneering Spirit, in Rotter-

So, where are we today? dam, by Dutch Drone Delta). (More on

Robotics, depending on how that here: https://bit.ly/3cWQDuy)

BladeBUG is a blade you de?ne it, isn’t entirely Some tentative steps have also been walking inspection robot, new to the offshore industry. made into topside robotics, from quad- focusing on leading edge

Remotely operated vehicles rupeds to crawlers, some in response erosion inspection. with intricate manipulators to concerns around hydrogen sulphide have been used for decades, (H2S), which is deadly to humans, and albeit in a fairly manual way, and are others in response to speci?c incidents - now becoming more sophisticated and Total would have been able to act faster

JULY/AUGUST 2020 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 21