CIFTIS: AI Becoming Key Pillar For Sustainable Urban Development

BEIJING, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Sep, 2025) If you look closely at the rivers in Beijing, you’ll spot several small, unmanned boats, gently illuminated with soft-colored lights, gliding silently along predetermined paths.

These seemingly modest vessels are on an important mission — precisely harvesting aquatic weeds and cleaning up floating debris.

“These unmanned boats are equipped with our custom-developed intelligent recognition system,” Chen Nan from the Beijing Institute of Water Science and Technology explained at the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS).

“They can autonomously detect the distribution of aquatic plants, predict growth trends, and operate around the clock with pinpoint precision.”

Amid the wave of digital transformation, water resource management — traditionally a conservative field — is undergoing a profound shift. At the 2025 CIFTIS Environmental Services Pavilion, the integration of AI with water systems is reshaping the logic of urban water management, powered by data and technology, and becoming a key pillar of sustainable urban development.

A "Stethoscope" for Underground Pipelines

“Just like how doctors use pulse-taking to diagnose illness, we can now ‘listen’ to assess the health of underground pipelines,” Chen said, demonstrateing a new acoustic fingerprint analysis system.

By capturing the sounds emitted by pipes and analyzing them with AI algorithms, the system can accurately locate leak points and assess their severity. This technology has already yielded promising results in real-world deployments in Fangshan District, Beijing.

“It can detect leaks up to 300 meters away with meter-level precision,” Chen added. “And because it's non-invasive, there's no need for costly, large-scale road excavation. For countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative, this tech offers precise, efficient leak detection and repair — with high potential for broader adoption.” The Institute has also developed inspection robots for larger pipelines. These robots, equipped with high-precision sensors, can detect and even repair leaks in real time from within the pipes — significantly reducing manual labor risks, CEN reported.

Smarter Water Dispatching: From Human Instinct to Data-Driven Intelligence

On the other side of the booth, engineer Liu Yang was giving a live demo of the WiSE Water Cycle Simulation and Optimization Platform, independently developed by the Beijing Institute of Water Science and Technology.

With a tap on the screen, Liu brought up a real-time visualization of Beijing’s digital twin water network. The map clearly displayed rainfall, water availability, and the operational status of various infrastructure components across the city. All data points were color-coded by region for easy analysis, and could also be compared to the same period from the previous year.

He then opened a 3D model of the city’s complex water distribution system and demonstrated how the platform handles emergencies. “Any disruptions—whether it’s a supply outage, infrastructure failure, or water quality issue—immediately trigger an alert,” Liu explained. “The system then activates a knowledge-driven optimization model to quickly generate emergency response plans, offering strong decision support for urban water safety.”

By integrating multiple data sources and creating a dynamic digital twin of the water network, the platform enables real-time interaction between physical infrastructure and its virtual counterpart. More importantly, it marks a shift from manual, experience-based water management to intelligent, data-driven scheduling—where every drop of water is tracked and every decision is made with greater precision and efficiency.

As climate change and rapid urban growth place increasing pressure on water systems, digital tools and AI are playing a vital role by delivering smart, practical solutions. With the help of these technologies, cities around the world may soon rely on tireless “digital water stewards”—quietly ensuring smooth water flow and stable infrastructure, from every pipe to every reservoir.

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