Capital universities to lead on £36m funding for offshore robotics

A £36 million funding boost for research into offshore energy technologies and artificial intelligence has been unveiled, led by the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics.

A consortium comprising five universities, working with 31 industrial and innovation partners, will deploy the funding support to advance robotics and AI technologies for the inspection, repair, maintenance and certification of offshore energy platforms and assets.

The Edinburgh Centre for Robotics – a partnership between Heriot-watt University and the University of Edinburgh – will lead the consortium that also includes Imperial College London, the University of Oxford and the University of Liverpool.

Together, the five institutions will work collaboratively under the title of the “Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets”, or Orca Hub, to develop systems for use in extreme and unpredictable environments.

The hub will create “robotassisted asset inspection and maintenance technologies” that are capable of making autonomous and semi-autonomous decisions and interventions.

Some £14.3m of funding will come from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) with up to £18m from 31 industry partners. The university consortium will contribute a further £3.6m.

Professor David Lane, from Heriot-watt University, director of the Orca Hub, said: “The international offshore energy industry faces many challenges, including near-permanent low oil prices, expensive decommissioning commitments of old infrastructure, particularly in the North Sea, and small margins on the traded commodity price per KWH of offshore renewable energy.

“Coupled to this, the offshore workforce is ageing as the new generation of qualified graduates seek less hazardous onshore opportunities.

“The goal is to develop shore-operated autonomous and semi-autonomous solutions for inspection, maintenance and decommissioning of offshore energy infrastructure using marine, terrestrial and airborne robotic systems.”

Elisabeth Proust, managing director of industry partner Total E&P UK, said: “Orca is a clear signal that the partnership between universities, industry and government is working. We’re pulling together and generating the ideas that will see the UK continue to lead the development of oil and gas technology worldwide.”

She added: “Total is a longstanding champion of autonomous robotic technology and we have a clear track record in its early adoption.”