Based out of his shed, Chris explored various robotic forms including a wheel of suction feet and track methods. In 2017, Chris took the leap to work full-time on BladeBUG.
Safe.
Fast.
Adaptable.
As the offshore wind industry enters a rapid phase of growth, the challenges to keeping turbines spinning and optimised grow with it.
At BladeBUG we are developing advanced robots to assist technicians in the inspection and repair of turbine blades, without the need for rope access.
Semi-autonomous
Reduce barriers of use
BladeBUG’s Crawler robot can be operated out of the line of sight meaning technicians can remotely perform maintenance tasks without the associated cost and without being exposed to harsh conditions.
Lightweight
Reduce downtime
The speed of deployment and ease of use means O&M teams can treat defects before it would be viable to use a traditional rope access team. This preventative maintenance increases the efficiency of the turbine and maximises the low carbon energy generated.
Modular Design
Reduce Duplication
The modular design of the robot body can accept different non-destructive testing and repair equipment making it flexible while offshore.
Robots and humans working together can do great things. Our vision is for automation and robotics to play its part in ensuring safe, scalable growth of the offshore wind industry.
Want to find out more? Book a meeting
Our Story
Whilst working as a turbine blade engineer BladeBUG founder, Chris Cieslak, became convinced that advanced robotics could transform operations at offshore wind farms, reducing costs and maximising asset lifetimes.
In 2017 Chris settled on a six-legged version of the robot, capable of adapting to various forms for grip and movement.
BladebUG was awarded grant funding from Innovate UK as part of the Technologies for Extreme and Challenging Environments Competition.
During 2017 and 2018 BladeBUG explored and tested various elements of the robot design to ensure maximum results from the smallest and simplest form possible.
The BladeBUG Mk1 robot was complete and capable of securely gripping all areas of a blade.
In 2019 BladeBUG was awarded further funding from Innovate UK for the next phase of Technologies for Extreme and Challenging Environments. The Phase 2 project will run until February 2021.
During 2019 and 2020 our team has grown to seven full-time staff and the robot has evolved to a full walking and surface scanning demonstrator.
During 2020 development work took place on non destructive test and repair capabilities for the robot.
In October 2020, the BladeBUG robot successfully walked on a 7WM offshore wind turbine in Scotland.
Team
Support and Funding
We are proud to be supported financially and through the continued mentorship from:
To find out about our investment strategy email invest@bladebug.co.uk