China is building a massive hydroelectric power plant using robots controlled by artificial intelligence (AI) in a 3D printing process. The 180-meter-high Yangqu dam will be mostly built by robots controlled by AI, according to the South China Morning Post. The construction process used is typically used in 3D printing technology. The Yangqu dam is expected to generate about five billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year after only two years of construction. The electricity will be transported via a 1,500-kilometer-long high-voltage transmission line to the province.
The 3D printing technology used in the construction of the Yangqu dam has been in development for years and is now ready for large infrastructure projects, according to Liu Tianyun, the project’s lead scientist at Tsinghua University in China. The technology can free people from heavy, repetitive, and dangerous work, Liu said. The scientists had the idea of using 3D printing to realize large construction projects about ten years ago. They believe that a construction site can be turned into a giant printer when a large number of autonomous machines work seamlessly together.
To implement the innovative project, a computer model breaks down the dam into layers. The robots can then add a single layer and build the dam. Unmanned excavators can automatically recognize materials and load them onto autonomous trucks. These trucks then bring the building materials to the destination via a route calculated by AI. Other robots take over the construction of another layer of the dam structure. Numerous sensors continuously monitor the progress to ensure high quality.
The automatic system has the advantage of making significantly fewer mistakes than human construction workers, according to Liu. However, not all work can be done by machines yet. The complexity of extracting fill material still requires human workers. In the future, the technology could also be used in other infrastructure projects such as airports and highways. “AI based on knowledge, information, and data is a new tool that will shape our future,” the researcher said.
