The first two reports from ORE Catapult’s Tidal Turbine Collision Sensor Development project, done in collaboration with Censis, have been published.
A solution is sought to the problem of determining whether a strike on a subsea tidal turbine is from an object or animal, with present technologies that can detect strikes but cannot make this important distinction without additional costly monitoring equipment, according to ORE Catapult.
Censis, with project funding contributions from Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), and ORE Catapult as project partner, is delivering a study on this challenge – investigating the feasibility of adapting and developing existing sensor technology.
According to ORE Catapult, Censis is leading a consultation exercise with teams from across the marine energy industry including regulatory bodies, tidal turbine project and technology developers, university teams and sensor companies. They are analysing industry’s requirements and comparing them to the sensor development landscape.
The key study output is a detailed plan to adapt, develop and demonstrate state-of-the-art detection sensor technology.
Two reports have been produced from the project, including the one looking at the functional and environmental requirements of the sensor and imaging systems, and another reviewing existing technologies and the potential for future projects.