Multi-Agent Optimization for Offshore Wind Farm Inspection using an Improved Population-based Metaheuristic

The use of robotic solutions in tasks such as the inspection and monitorization of offshore wind farms aims to, not only mitigate the involved risks, but also to reduce the costs of operating and maintaining these structures. Performing a complete inspection of the platforms in useful time is crucial. Therefore, multiple agents can prove to be a cost-effective solution. This work proposes a trajectory planning algorithm, based on the Ant Colony metaheuristic, capable of optimizing the number of Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs) to be used, and their corresponding route.Experiments conducted on a simulated environment, representative of the real scenario, proves this approach to be successful in planning a trajectory that is able to select the appropriate number of agents and the trajectory of each agent that avoids collisions and at the same time guarantees the full observation of the offshore structures.