A unique 180-meter dam may appear in China by 2024. It will be built using 3D printing and artificial intelligence, which will take over the management of the entire construction process of the structure. People will not take part in the construction.
In China, it is planned to build a 180-meter dam without the participation of people. The body of the dam will be printed on 3D printers, and robots controlled by artificial intelligence will be engaged in construction. The authors of the project claim that this way the risk of critical errors that people can make will be reduced.
The dam is being built for a hydroelectric power plant, which is being built in Yangqiu County in Shanxi Province. It will be built in layers using materials printed on 3D printers. By the end of construction, this object may enter the Guinness Book of Records as the highest (or at least the largest) a structure created using 3D printers.
At the moment, the largest object created in this way is considered to be an administrative building in Dubai, which covers an area of 640 square meters, and whose height is 9 meters. The 180-meter dam, of course, will be a much larger structure.
Robots will be engaged in direct construction: a centralized artificial intelligence system will manage an entire fleet of unmanned bulldozers, stackers and other equipment engaged in construction.
The only thing that, apparently, people will be engaged in is the production of primary raw materials for construction. The description of the entire project was published in the refereed scientific journal of Tsinghua University. The authors of the work point out that AI will avoid human mistakes, such as uneven laying or delivery of materials to the wrong point, which is currently relevant. In addition, the work will be carried out without any risk to people. The project will be completed by 2024.
After the construction of the dam and the power plant, it will supply the country with 5 billion kilowatt-hours annually. If the whole enterprise is successful, it will become a model for other similar projects.
China is currently experiencing a decline in the birth rate and a reduction in the labor force, which encourages the country's authorities to look for new technological solutions to keep the industry in working order.
"Such projects may initially be very expensive, but in the strategic perspective they will save a lot of effort and money," says Dmitry Gvozdev, CEO of Information Technologies of the Future. — Management optimization is currently the most obvious way to apply artificial intelligence technologies; its application in a more technological way is a matter of the near future. Automation of construction with the help of AI will reduce risks for people and for the entire project as a whole. Ultimately, such an approach can provide significant cumulative savings in serial industrial construction. But this is provided that the project will be implemented "as on paper", without dangerous compromises."