China relies on AI, drones and robots. An almost 160 kilometer long section of expressway was built for the first time – without human workers.
Were there really no people involved in the construction? According to researcher and author ChenKojira on X, formerly Twitter, the conglomerate of several Chinese state-owned companies relied exclusively on machine power and artificial intelligence. No one was behind the wheel, neither in the vehicles nor using remote control.
The result is a 157.79 kilometer long and 20 meter wide section that is part of the expansion of the Beijing–Hong Kong and Macau Expressway. Once completed, this will extend from Hong Kong all the way to the north of China.
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Road construction completely without people on the construction site
How did the construction go? After the route had been designed and planned by humans in the traditional way, it was implemented using various construction vehicles and drones. The latter took over the monitoring and checked the surface beyond all dimensions. The news platform Deepnewz also reports on material deliveries by drones; A total of around 10,000 were used.
According to Chinese information, this type of road construction using AI, robotic vehicles and drones is a world first. In the end, the project achieved all its goals and met the human-imposed specifications to the millimeter, says ChenKojira on X.
An AI parade celebrating the expressway
The following images were taken during a staged mini-parade to demonstrate the devices in action. The Chinese authorities also invited around 700 selected people to attend the spectacle and inspect the new highway. The pictures come from the X account tphuang.
Is this way of building roads better? According to Chinese information, it happened faster than with human involvement on the construction site. But we have no information about the exact construction time or costs. The information that a new milestone in road construction with a previously unattained width of the road and at the same time high efficiency has been achieved cannot be verified.
Based on the pictures and reports, all that can be understood so far is that an expressway was built and extensive automation was used for this purpose. It remains to be seen whether only robots will be used to build further sections of the expressway in the future.
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