DEEP Robotics is deploying its wheeled-legged Lynx M20 robot to autonomously inspect a 26-kilometer utility tunnel beneath Chengdu's Future Science and Technology City. The underground corridor, located adjacent to an international airport, houses high-voltage power cables, fiber optics, gas mains, and water lines.
According to the company, the subterranean environment lacks GPS and cellular networks. The tunnel is densely packed with heavy machinery, with some passages narrowing to just 50 centimeters wide.
The Lynx M20 uses a hybrid locomotion system to navigate the restrictive terrain. It rolls on wheels across flat concrete sections and transitions to a walking gait to step over debris or navigate tight obstacles. To pass through the 50-centimeter bottlenecks, the robot compresses its posture. The system operates autonomously, returning to a wireless charging dock when its battery depletes.
Automated systems are tasked with detecting anomalies that human inspectors might miss during routine patrols, such as microscopic gas seepage, hairline concrete fractures, or cable joints running slightly over temperature. The Hangzhou-based company previously deployed its X30 quadruped for similar power cable tunnel inspections in Singapore and Wenzhou.
Conventional wheeled or tracked rovers frequently get trapped in narrow underground corridors because they lack the turning radius to back out of dead ends. Using a hybrid wheeled-legged system allows continuous inspection of critical infrastructure, keeping human workers away from toxic gas leaks, flash floods, and high-voltage hazards.