STORY: Robots deployed in China's Wuhan to ensure bullet train safety during Spring Festival travel rush
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Jan. 15, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:22
LOCATION: WUHAN, China
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the robots
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG DONGHAO, Bullet train mechanic
3. various of trains

STORYLINE:

Two intelligent inspection robots for bullet trains have been put into use in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, to ensure the safety of train operations during the Spring Festival travel rush.

These robots integrate advanced sensing technology, machine vision, and artificial intelligence algorithms, enabling comprehensive inspections of key components of bullet trains in a short period of time.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG DONGHAO, Bullet train mechanic
"Normally, it takes four mechanics about three hours to conduct a thorough inspection inside and outside a bullet train. With the deployment of inspection robots, combined with some intelligent detection equipment, a team of three mechanics can complete the inspection of a bullet train in just 1.5 hours. When the robot inspects certain components under the train, there are areas that its mechanical arms cannot reach. In such cases, we perform manual inspections to ensure a thorough check, ensuring the operational safety of bullet trains."

Known as the world's largest population migration once a year, the Spring Festival travel rush, or chunyun, is expected to see an unprecedented 9 billion inter-regional trips in 40 days.

During this year's chunyun that started on Tuesday, over 14,000 passenger trains will run daily.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Wuhan, China.
(XHTV)