China builds hydroelectric dam with 3D printing technology, no labor required

The 180-meter-tall Yangqu hydroelectric power plant project was built with artificial intelligence (Al). Specifically, AI will control unmanned excavators, trucks, bulldozers, etc., according to the production process used in the production process. technology 3D printing.

This project started at the end of last year in Tibet, Qinghai, China. According to the project’s lead scientist, Liu Tianyun, the Yangqu dam construction technology and 3D printing are “in essence identical”.

As a first step, Al will “cut” the hydroelectric dam model on the computer into layers and direct the device to perform the construction layer by layer. Under the control of a central server system, unmanned excavators and automated trucks transport the right materials to the right locations, after which the construction process will be carried out automatically.

According to scientists, the only stage that is done manually by humans is quarrying from the mountain near the work.

The Yangqu dam project is expected to be completed in 2024 and provide nearly 5 billion kWh of electricity per year from the upper Yellow River to Ha Nam – home to 100 million people.

Electricity will pass through a 1,500 km long high-voltage power line built specifically for the transmission of green energy.

Mr. Liu said that after years of testing and development, 3D printing technology in China can be applied to build large infrastructures and will “free people from heavy tasks, heavy workloads”. repetitive and dangerous”.

Construction engineers in China are no strangers to AI – the technology was used to build the world’s second-largest dam Baihetan in four years. However, until now, artificial intelligence has often only played a coordinating role in projects.

Tests of AI technology in construction projects show that intelligent machines can outperform humans, “especially in some harsh and dangerous environments”.

Another advantage of artificial intelligence is that they do not make human mistakes such as: delivering materials to the wrong place, not being able to read technical blueprints correctly. Machines are also capable of working well in potentially life-threatening locations and without being exhausted from continuous work.