A local subsidiary of China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., (China Mobile) in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province introduced an aerial patrol system at Dianchi Lake.
Dianchi Lake, Yunnan’s largest freshwater lake and a popular tourist destination, serves as a winter haven for over 200 species of migratory birds. Environmental conservation around the lake, however, has long faced issues such as rampant blue-green algae growth and a fragile ecological system.
To address these issues, a suite of digitalized infrastructures has been established, including 11 5G-advanced base stations, four wireless positioning detection stations and a directional jammer. The drones undertaking extensive and fixed-point inspections were connected with the “Lingyun” platform, an unmanned aerial vehicle management system developed by China Mobile to establish an integrated sky-air-ground inspection system. These aerial drones transmitted back information that can help monitor and track illegal pollution discharges, unauthorized fishing and unapproved constructions. It makes night patrols more visible, precise, and efficient.
The lake’s shoreline is under the full supervision of 21 drones and 4 heavy-duty pan-tilt-zoom cameras. Inspections on factors crucial for algae control, such as the concentration and diffusion, were able to reduce the response time to 6 hours from 3 days, thanks to the long-distance surveillance techniques. Data transmitted back by the drones will be analyzed in artificial intelligence models, enabling the prediction of an algae bloom up to seven days in advance with prediction accuracy as high as 85 percent.
In the future, the intelligent modes will be adopted in more areas in the protection and development of Dianchi Lake, including low-altitude agricultural machinery management and aerial sightseeing. Through the project, China Mobile will continuously promote technological innovation and practical application, contributing more expertise and capability to the governance and protection of plateau lakes.
(Executive editor: Yuan Ting)
