Chengdu, China — Recently, the crawler-type intelligent inspection robot for steel box girder interiors, jointly developed by Datong Company, the Research Center for Highway and Long-Span Bridge Construction Technology of CCCC (the “Long-Span Bridge Center”), the Greater Bay Area Mega Bridge Maintenance Technology Center (the “Bay Area Center”), and Tsinghua University, has achieved remarkable recognition on both domestic and international stages. The innovation won the First Prize in the Transportation Intelligent Construction Technology Innovation and Application Competition organized by the China Highway & Transportation Society, as well as the Silver Medal at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions.

         This dual recognition highlights Datong’s core competitiveness in the field of intelligent bridge inspection equipment and marks a new milestone in the company’s journey toward intelligent construction and smart maintenance.

      Tackling Challenges in Steel Box Girder Inspection

       Steel box girders are crucial components in bridge engineering, but their confined, dimly lit interiors filled with obstacles pose significant challenges. High temperatures and poor ventilation during summer make manual inspections inefficient and risky.

       To address these pain points, Datong’s R&D team, in collaboration with the Long-Span Bridge Center and the Bay Area Center, developed an innovative crawler-type unmanned inspection robot. This solution breaks through multiple key technical barriers in intelligent inspection of steel box girder interiors.

      Advanced Mobility and Data Collection

       The robot features a four-swing-arm crawler chassis capable of multiple gaits. By leveraging environmental perception data and preset strategies, it dynamically adjusts motor parameters to achieve flexible movement and obstacle crossing in complex environments.

       Additionally, it is equipped with a mechanical-arm-based defect collection module that integrates cameras, LiDAR, and a lighting system. This enables efficient and cost-effective acquisition of images and point clouds, significantly enhancing the quality and completeness of inspection data.

        Precision Recognition and Intelligent Mapping

        In terms of defect identification, the robot incorporates an advanced defect localization system, integrating image recognition, SLAM mapping, point cloud registration, and coordinate transformation. This allows defects to be mapped with high precision onto the bridge’s global coordinate system, achieving a positioning error of less than 10 cm.

       Inspection results are shared and visualized via a BIM+GIS maintenance management platform, offering intelligent decision-making support for bridge maintenance. Verified testing shows that the robot can complete a full inspection of a single box compartment within 60 minutes, achieving a coverage rate of more than 91%.

      Recognition and Future Outlook

      Winning both a national first prize and an international silver medal underscores the technological breakthroughs and engineering value of Datong’s intelligent inspection robot.

       Looking ahead, Datong will continue to leverage its R&D strengths to promote the upgrading and application of intelligent inspection robots across more major infrastructure projects. The company remains committed to delivering more efficient, safer, and smarter inspection solutions for the bridge engineering industry.