China rebuilds the Great Wall with the aid of Intel drones

Two years after being criticized over ‘ugly’ repairs on the Great Wall, Chinese officials are ready to make things right and engage in a new rebuilt project, this time using high-tech Intel drones for the restoration.

2,000 years have passed since the Great Wall of China was finished, so naturally, it could need some repairing here and there.

There’s one big challenge: this world wonder is has a length of more than 13,000 miles (the equivalent of 21,196.18 km). Additionally, this monument has various parts where it’s rocky, steep, severely eroded and quite dangerous for visitors to access. All these make repairs a lot more complicated.

However, things may change to the better now that the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation and Intel, one of the largest chipmaker worldwide, announced they’re partnering on a complex plan that involves drones flying over the Great Wall. After all, it’s the era of technological advances, so why not take advantage of the high-tech equipment available?

Why are drones used?

This equipment will reveal the most affected parts of the monument. One of the sections caught the officials’ attention, as it is visibly weathered. This section was built during the Ming dynasty, which was the ruling dynasty of the region (the Great Ming Empire, as it was known back then) for more than 270 years (between the 14th and the 17th centuries).

“Using drones, we are able to inspect multiple aspects of the structure including areas that are quite inaccessible. We continue to be excited about the future of inspections being automated all the way from drone data capture to data processing, analysis and insights. We look forward to leveraging our technology to aid in the preservation of more world heritage sites in the future,” were the words of Anil Nanduri, which is the vice president and general manager of the drone team of Intel.

One of the most popular sections of the Great Wall, the Jiankou, is also the steepest and this one too needs serious and rapid repairing. It dates to the 3rd century BC and it is surrounded by thick vegetation, which makes the erosion even more severe and complicated to repair.

Intel will utilize AI and Falcon 8+ drones in order to inspect the region and to map it accordingly.

In a statement he gave several days ago, the chairman of China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation, Li Xiaojie, explained:

“As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Wall has been exposed to weather erosion for thousands of years. Some parts are on steep inclines, which pose a great challenge for daily maintenance. Our partnership with Intel has opened new avenues for preservation.”

Intel’s drones will fly over the Great Wall for the following months recording everything and capturing thousands of aerial photographies of the monument. The resulted 3D images will be used by the teams responsible for repairing the wall to understand its current condition easier and commence the repairing process ASAP.