China is reportedly planning to build a power plant dam by 3D printing the structure of the building. The dam, which is planned to be built on the Tibetan plateau, is set to be assembled layer by layer just like 3D Printing.
It is even said that this development will be built without human intervention and will use artificial intelligence technology that will involve construction robots.
Launching us from Business Insider, this project is also packaged in the form of a paper published last April in the Journal of Tsinghua University (Science and Technology).
The 179.8 meter high power plant dam project will be carried out at the Yanqu Dam, around the Tibetan plateau. The construction is targeted to be completed in 2024.
When finished, this AI project can be said to be the tallest structure in the world built using the 3D Printing process.
The current record is held by a two-story office building in Dubai, which stands just 6 meters tall.
According to scientists, the dam site uses a centralized AI system that is used to oversee a massive automated assembly line to manage a fleet of unmanned trucks used to transport construction materials to parts of the job site.
Once the material arrives, unmanned bulldozers and pavers will turn it into a dam lining. Then a roller equipped with sensors will help press each layer so that it becomes sturdy and durable.
As per the contents of this project paper, when the 3D Printing layer is complete the robot will send information about the construction status back to the AI system. However, mining of construction materials still has to be done manually.
"The AI system and its army of robots will help eliminate human errors, such as when roller operators don't keep a straight line or when truck drivers deliver materials to the wrong place," said lead author Liu Tianyun of Tsinghua University, according to SCMP.
This system will also allow on-site work to take place continuously without any safety concerns for human workers.
According to scientists, the completed Yangqu dam will provide China with 5 billion kWh of electricity annually. If successful, the construction method can be used as a blueprint for other construction projects such as road construction.
