It aims to minimise human contact with hard-to-reach installations in dangerous environments such as oil rigs and offshore wind turbines, reducing the risk factor involved in maintaining them. The technology involved does not even need to be remotely controlled by humans.

ORCA Hub unveiled recent results at its third presentation to industry, including the application of 16 autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic solutions at ORE Catapult in Blyth, near Newcastle.

The event, attended by over 30 industry stakeholders, included a demonstration of state-of-the-art autonomous drones by Dr Mirko Kovac, director of the aerial robotics laboratory at Imperial College London.

He said: "Drones are currently used to visually inspect offshore wind turbines, but these inspections are remotely controlled by people on-site at the offshore location. Should an area of concern be found, technicians are required to carry out further inspection, maintenance or repair, often at great heights and therefore in high-risk environments.

"Our drones are fully autonomous. As well as visually inspecting a turbine for integrity concerns, ours make contact, placing sensors on the infrastructure, or acting as a sensor itself, to assess the health of each asset. Our technology could even deposit repair material for certain types of damage.

Click here to read the full article.