The tests of the "Aerones" robotic device on the water are successfully completed in In the Port of Liepaja

On June 12 and 13, with the support of the Liepaja SEZ Authority and the Harbor Master’s Office of the Port of Liepaja, the Latvian company “Aerones” completed testing a special robotic device designed to control the grounding of wind generators on the water prior to delivery to the North Sea.

The Liepaja SEZ CEO Uldis Hmieļevskis pointed out that this is an excellent example of how the wind energy industry creates opportunities for Latvian scientists, manufacturers and service providers to develop new technologies, services, and to create new jobs both during the construction of wind parks and in their maintenance.

“Aerones” is the world leading robot-enabled wind turbine maintenance and inspections service provider. Leveraging patented robotics technology, “Aerones” service teams deliver faster, safer and more effective services for wind operators worldwide. It is still a young and rapidly growing company engaged in the maintenance of wind turbines worldwide using robotic devices and tools.

According to Egils Gēcis, the Chief Mechanical Engineer in Research and Development at “Aerones”, the technology, the software, and the robotic devices have been created in Latvia by a team of domestic engineers. The demand for maintenance services of solar and wind farms is growing, and this allows the company to grow rapidly, constantly looking for new employees. “Aerones” operates in 25 countries - 45 teams, each of which has several
robots.

Up until now, “Aerones” has been providing their services on land, whereas currently the company decided to try its strength on water by servicing wind generators at sea. In the Port of Liepaja, the tests were carried out with smart equipment replacing the maintenance staff in dangerous work situations. The spacious berth of the Port of Liepaja was suitable for testing the new robots and technologies.

Egils Gēcis added, that there are more and more turbines being installed worldwide, and it is not so easy to find specialists to service them, so, this is where the robots may help a lot. Thanks to the Liepaja SEZ Authority and the port management, we had an opportunity to test our equipment, to check its suitability for operation on water. We have been testing all day long and the results are very positive. Maintenance of wind turbines, both onshore and
offshore, is not easy. The turbines need to be be inspected, cleaned and repaired on a regular basis. This is usually done by humans, however, it may be very dangerous, so we develop robots and use them by remote controlling. It's faster, more efficient, avoiding risks for the maintenance staff.