A multimillion-pound centre dedicated to researching and testing digital and robotic tech for the offshore sector has opened in Blyth.
The Digital, Autonomous and Robotics Engineering (DARE) Centre at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult features command and control rooms, three dry docks with up to 20,000m3 of space, wind turbine monopile and blade sections and specialist monitoring systems that will allow developers and researchers to test tech intended for the offshore renewables market.
The DARE Centre also includes a robotics assembly bay and an airborne robotics test zone - all of which is part of an effort to commercialise products that could help the rapid expansion of offshore wind in the UK. A handful of North East firms demonstrated their technologies at the opening, including North Shields-based Kinewell Energy, Newcastle's SMD and Blyth's Enshore Subsea.
