Path Planning and Control for Remotely Operated Vehicles Focused on Autonomous Visual Inspection of Floating Offshore Wind Structure

This paper introduces an innovative approach to address the challenges of inspecting offshore wind turbines by presenting a real-time dynamic path-planning system for remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Focused on floating wind turbine structures, the proposed methodology integrates an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) into the structure, allowing dynamic adjustment of the inspection path based on real-time pose data. Utilizing a fault-tolerant control solution, the system enables autonomous flight control of ROVs, maintaining consistent orientation towards the structure and desired inspection distance. The applicability of the approach is validated through simulations in the OceanRINGS+ control suite, emphasizing the importance of dynamic path planning in enhancing efficiency, safety, and cost-effectiveness in offshore wind turbine inspections.