Ice block stacking robot begins testing at Harbin Ice and Snow World

An automated ice block stacking robot builds a large-scale ice sculpture at the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Xu Chenglong)

An automated ice block stacking robot began testing at the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Feb. 3.

It was co-developed over nearly a year by Harbin Ice and Snow World and the School of Mechatronics Engineering at the Harbin Institute of Technology.

Designed specifically for ice sculpture construction in extreme cold, the system provides stable, efficient load lifting, high-precision ice block gripping, and an integrated spray system. Together, these capabilities streamline the construction of large-scale ice sculptures.

The robot can easily handle ice blocks weighing up to 1 tonne. Once operational, it can replace elevated manual operations, significantly reducing labor costs while minimizing safety risks.

The Harbin Institute of Technology has launched a strategic partnership with the Songbei district government in Harbin. The team has completed company registration and is moving ahead with plans to commercialize the technology.

Meanwhile, a health monitoring system that tracks ice structures throughout their full life cycle has also entered testing.

Using a network of distributed sensors, the system continuously monitors internal temperatures within ice structures while integrating data on tilt, vibration, and other factors. By analyzing this data, the team can identify key indicators of structural health, issue early warnings of potential hazards, evaluate long-term stability trends, and pinpoint the underlying causes of structural changes.

An automated ice block stacking robot builds a large-scale ice sculpture at the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Xu Chenglong)

An automated ice block stacking robot builds a large-scale ice sculpture at the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Xu Chenglong)

An automated ice block stacking robot builds a large-scale ice sculpture at the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Xu Chenglong)

An automated ice block stacking robot builds a large-scale ice sculpture at the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Xu Chenglong)

An automated ice block stacking robot builds a large-scale ice sculpture at the 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (People's Daily Online/Xu Chenglong)