Autonomous Biomimetic Robot-fish for Offshore Wind Farm Inspection

The project

The maintenance and monitoring of Offshore Wind Turbines (OWTs) and Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWTs) present significant challenges. Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) used to inspect them are limited in accessibility and manoeuvrability. This project will build a “Robo Fish” – a biometric Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capable of continuously and autonomously locating and monitoring structural damage to OWTs or FOWTs. The Robo Fish mimics the movement of an eel, allowing it to greater agility in close proximity to structures and better energy efficiency of movement compared to conventional AUV designs.

Dr Mark Post - Principal Investigator

Dr Mark Post is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Robotics and Autonomous Systems at the University of York. Mark received his B.A.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto in 2004, and his M.Sc. in ultrasonic material analysis and Ph.D. in space robotics from York University in Canada in 2008 and 2014 respectively. From 2014-2018 he worked on novel autonomous manufacturing, agricultural robotics, and space robotics technologies including mobility, vision, and sensor fusion in the Space Mechatronic Systems Technology Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde. He joined the Department of Electronic Engineering at York in 2019 and focuses on applying both space and terrestrial robotics technologies to challenges in comprehensive sensing, artificial intelligence, self-awareness, and bio-inspired adaptable structures for robotics. He is an associate editor of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal and has reviewed for several international journals including IEEE Trans. on Industrial Electronics and Mechatronics, Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Advances in Space Research, Sensors, and Acta Astronautica and so on.

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