Jiangsu’s rail transit development ranks among the nation’s leaders. The safe, efficient, and inclusive public transportation system it has built to world-class standards not only serves as a key measure to enhance public welfare but also creates a safe, orderly, convenient, and efficient urban travel environment for the Jiangsu Super League.

KING YOUNG Technology, a leading tech company specializing in intelligent operation and maintenance of rail transit, is deeply involved in the 2026 Jiangsu Provincial Urban Football League as an official sponsor (small and micro enterprise). By closely integrating its support for sports with its commitment to safeguarding public transportation, the company is using technological innovation to strengthen safety measures and help drive the continuous improvement and upgrading of the rail transit system.

As night falls and the city gradually quiets down, the Qilin trams—which have been busy serving passengers throughout the day—begin rolling into the maintenance depot one after another. At this moment, the intelligent train inspection robots independently developed by Nanjing KING YOUNG Intelligent Technology are activated on schedule to conduct comprehensive inspections of these “returning” trams, ensuring the safe and smooth operation of the rail transit system through the power of technology.

The Qilin tram routes in Nanjing feature numerous at-grade crossings, frequent vehicle starts and stops, and high daily passenger volumes. During prolonged operation, components such as vehicle bearings, suspensions, piping, and fasteners are prone to fatigue damage due to continuous vibration, while the braking system suffers accelerated wear from frequent starts and stops. Vehicle maintenance can only be performed daily between the end of service at night and the early hours of the following morning. Traditional manual inspections struggle to achieve comprehensive and precise detection, making it easy to overlook potential hazards and posing challenges to operational safety. To address these practical challenges, KING YOUNG Technology tailored an intelligent inspection robot solution specifically for this project based on its operational conditions.

The Qilin tram train intelligent inspection robot, which has now entered trial operation, is not only precisely tailored to meet the demands of nighttime operations, but also leverages five core design advantages to deliver an industry-leading intelligent inspection solution. It comprehensively addresses the core requirements of train inspections, thereby establishing a robust defense for the safe operation of trams.

Five Key Advantages: Unlocking a New Approach to Smart Operation and Maintenance of Trams

1. Highly adaptable to various environments, with the flexibility to accommodate multi-lane operations

Given the operational space constraints in the maintenance depot—such as the depth of the inspection pits, steep access ramps, and the proximity of the locomotive to the pit edges—the robotic system has deployed networked electric lifting platforms within the tracks. These platforms allow for free and flexible entry and exit from the tracks, enabling seamless transition between the inspection pits and the ground level, and perfectly meeting the requirements for parallel inspections across multiple tracks. At the same time, the robot’s operations do not interfere with the normal movement of personnel within the pit. Operations such as crossing tracks and transferring equipment are flexible and convenient, eliminating the need for complex civil engineering modifications to the existing site. This significantly reduces the difficulty of project implementation, ensures comprehensive inspection coverage, and precisely meets the on-site environmental requirements for the maintenance of the Qilin tram.

2. Positioning accuracy of up to 5 mm, precisely targeting key maintenance areas

The inspection robot’s navigation and positioning system integrates multimodal sensing devices such as LiDAR and depth cameras, enabling precise collection of on-site environmental data and significantly enhancing the accuracy and stability of navigation. Field tests have shown that its positioning accuracy reaches 5 mm, allowing it to precisely locate critical maintenance areas—such as tram axles—and achieve precise stopping. This provides high-precision support for subsequent hazard detection and data collection, with positioning accuracy that ranks among the best in the industry.

3. Outstanding image recognition capabilities and robust algorithmic capabilities

Nighttime inspections face challenges such as insufficient lighting, complex environments, a lack of fault sample data, and inconsistent image quality. To address these pain points, KING YOUNG Technology has conducted customized R&D to develop a proprietary core algorithm system. By leveraging core technologies such as small-sample data augmentation, image enhancement, image segmentation, object detection, classification, and generative network models, the system deeply integrates traditional computer vision, deep learning, and large-scale model technologies. This has significantly improved the accuracy and stability of the system’s detection capabilities, enabling it to precisely identify various potential hazards on trains, effectively prevent missed or false detections, and ensure the quality of inspections.

4. Fully autonomous charging throughout the entire process, suitable for long-range patrol operations

The robot is capable of automatically navigating to a charging station and connecting to it for charging; without the need for manual intervention, the robot can autonomously plan its path based on battery level and location to dock precisely for charging. Combined with its ability to autonomously execute tasks throughout the entire process, this truly achieves fully unmanned inspection operations. It can also optimize global energy strategies based on inspection task priorities, remaining battery charge, and operational paths, thereby avoiding unnecessary back-and-forth movements. This enables true intelligent energy management and optimal range scheduling, enhancing overall operational efficiency and energy utilization.

Technology-Driven: Supporting the Smart Maintenance Upgrade of the Qilin Tram

As a technology company deeply rooted in the field of intelligent maintenance for rail transit, KING YOUNG Technology has consistently centered its efforts on 3D machine vision and intelligent multi-functional robot technology. By addressing the pain points of the rail transit industry, the company has developed comprehensive, highly adaptable intelligent maintenance solutions. The trial operation of the intelligent inspection robot for the Qilin tram not only serves as another practical demonstration of KING YOUNG Technology’s technical capabilities but also provides robust technological support for the safe and efficient operation of the Qilin tram.