China Invents Tunnel Boring RobotChina's first tunnel boring robot has just passed an expertise appraisal in this capital of central China's Hunan Province.The robot was evaluated as being on par with internationally advanced level, and is expected to put an end to China's dependence on importing tunnel-cutting intelligent equipment. The robot, with a maximum working interface of 90 square meters, has two gigantic "iron arms" installed with a six-meter drill-bits on both sides. It can automatically process data on the working interface and dig holes for putting explosives in. Listed as one of the state's denominated high-tech projects, the invention was undertaken by experts at the Central-South China University. The robot can be deployed for work on railways and road laying and mining exploration. He Qinghua, a professor at the university and a member of the high-tech project, said that the robot's control system was developed with Chinese software. Its sensor and anti-jamming abilities are on par with its foreign competitors. A piece of imported rock-drilling equipment usually costs at least 12 million yuan and its affiliated devices are also expensive. The domestic product is expected to reduce the construction cost by one million yuan per 1,000 meters of drilling. |
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