Get ready for a tech upgrade on the tracks! China has introduced its first set of intelligent inspection robots at Huanghua Port in north China's Hebei Province, and these machines are seriously game-changing. 🚄
Designed with a dynamic trio—one robot checking the train's underside and two scanning its sides—the system can inspect a 54-carriage freight train in just 135 minutes. Compare that to the old method where 16 people took over 50 minutes to complete the job!
Wang Peng, deputy general manager of the Suning maintenance branch at China Energy Railway Equipment Co., Ltd., shared that the robots have achieved a 100% common fault recognition rate. They capture over 9,450 high-definition images per inspection and can flag more than 120 types of suspected faults with impressive accuracy.
Since their debut on May 11 at the Huanghua maintenance depot, these smart machines have been steadily paving the way for a more efficient future. With plans to expand the number of side-inspecting robots to 10 within the next four months, the inspection time for each train is expected to drop further—from over 50 minutes down to just 27 minutes!
Extra cool detail: the robot scanning the train's underside makes a round trip in less than three minutes, while the paired side-check robots, equipped with multi-joint mechanical arms, complete the scan of a single carriage in about 2.5 minutes.
Veteran maintenance worker Lyu Dawei summed it up perfectly: "Robots indeed work with higher precision than humans." This breakthrough not only shortens inspection times but also sets new standards for safety and efficiency in the railway industry.
This smart fusion of robotics and data analytics is a huge win for tech enthusiasts and professionals alike, signaling major strides toward a future where innovation meets everyday operations on the Chinese mainland!
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
