A team led by Professor Yu Xin from Taiyuan University of Science and Technology (TYUST) achieved a significant breakthrough for China in intelligent road infrastructure inspection at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva (Inventions Geneva 2026), held from March 11 to 15.

Their innovation, "Rapid Diagnosis Technology for Road Structure Internal Defects Based on High-Speed, High-Precision 3D Ground Penetrating Radar", was honored with the event's highest accolade, the "Gold Medal with Jury Congratulations".

This achievement addresses the urgent need for quick diagnostics of internal health in existing roadways to enhance resilience. It creates an intelligent detection system that encompasses data collection, recognition, and diagnosis using high-speed, high-precision 3D ground-penetrating radar equipment and integrates massive data intelligent recognition algorithms with a collaborative cloud diagnostic platform.

Compared to traditional methods for diagnosing road structure health, this innovation can swiftly gather comprehensive defect information across road surfaces, enabling efficient recognition and precise diagnosis without disrupting traffic, marking a shift from experience-based assessments to data-driven, intelligent decision-making.

The technology has secured 23 patents for inventions and two software copyrights, and has been widely applied across more than 20 provinces, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Shandong, and Hubei, covering over 7,000 kilometers of highway lanes and major road maintenance projects. This has advanced the digitalization, intelligence, and precision of China's transportation infrastructure maintenance, offering a valuable model for global infrastructure upkeep.