Recently, the pilot flight of intelligent UAV patrol in Suzhou Metro Protection Zone achieved complete success. With integrated and fully automatic UAV patrol management platform, CASCO precisely controlled the UAV to complete the patrol along the Wujiang section of Metro Line 4, further expanding the application scenarios of "low-altitude + rail" UAV patrol.

What is a metro protection zone? Similar to a nature reserve that protects animals and plants, an invisible safety "red line" surrounds each metro line within a specific perimeter to protect the structure and operation safety of metro. The area within this red line is the protection zone.

With the promotion of urban construction, external operations that affect the metro protection zone are increasingly numerous. Traditional manual patrol can no longer meet the complex and arduous patrol needs, making it particularly important to leverage UAV for more efficient patrol. Against this background, CASCO collaborated with Suzhou Metro Group to jointly build an integrated and fully automatic UAV patrol management platform, driving the patrol of metro protection zone towards unmanned, automated, and intelligent upgrade.

The pilot flight covered the sections from Wenxi Road to Suzhouwan North Station, Suzhouwan North Station to Swan Lake Depot, and Jiangxing West Road to Gujiadang, totaling 14 kilometers in length and spanning across Taihu Lake with complex geographical conditions.

The UAV took off from the base station at Suzhouwan North Station and flew automatically along a preset route, simultaneously transmitting real-time patrol videos back. Through AI technology, the platform could accurately identify the construction area, construction vehicles, soil piles, etc., and would issue real-time warnings and timely notifications upon detecting illegal construction. This realized intelligent and digital patrol and monitoring of the construction status and surrounding conditions within the protection zone, not only improving the efficiency and accuracy of monitoring but also enhancing the timeliness of hazard identification, providing comprehensive technical support for the safe operation and maintenance of the metro.

With the "low-altitude economy" being included in the government work report for the first time, civilian UAV technology has undergone rapid development. CASCO's collaboration with Suzhou Metro Group to launch intelligent UAV patrol has accelerated the innovation and upgrade of rail transit patrol and created a good start for both parties to further enhance "low-altitude + rail" technology research and development and application.