At the end of November, the Smart Hydrology and Marine Renewable Energy Technology team from the College of Shipbuilding Engineering at Harbin Engineering University (HEU) successfully tested a new, energy-autonomous, unmanned intelligent supervision platform, named "Water Guardian."

This platform generates its own power through hydroelectric energy and is equipped with comprehensive sensing capabilities, intelligent recognition, real-time assessment, autonomous decision-making, and automatic execution. It offers innovative solutions for the safe, sustainable, and smart management of inland waterways, advancing the development of intelligent shipping systems.

Professor GENG Jing, the project team leader, explained that the platform’s development took three years to complete. It was made possible with the support of Heilongjiang Province's key R&D programs, as well as through a collaboration with Harbin Hailin Information Technology Co., Ltd.

The platform is efficient and reliable, capable of generating green electricity even in shallow waters with low currents.

Operating autonomously, it provides continuous, 24/7 monitoring and real-time identification of waterway conditions.

The system addresses key challenges in inland waterway management, meeting the real-world demands of modern waterway infrastructure.