China Telecom, ZTE and DeepRobotics unveil revolutionary 5G+ quadruped robot for intelligent emergency response

Robots that go where humans can’t—powered by 5G and built to save lives

Partner Content In the aftermath of disaster, when every second counts and human lives hang in the balance, traditional rescue operations face an impossible dilemma: how to reach survivors trapped in collapsed buildings, toxic environments, or unstable structures where sending personnel would mean risking more lives. This challenge has long haunted emergency response teams worldwide—until now.

China Telecom, in partnership with ZTE and DeepRobotics, has transformed this paradigm through a revolutionary 5G-powered quadruped robot emergency rescue solution that has already proven its worth across multiple real-world disaster scenarios. By combining the high-speed, low-latency capabilities of 5G networks with the all-terrain adaptability of biomimetic quadruped robots, the solution has achieved intelligent, unmanned operations in high-risk environments, delivering significant economic and social value while injecting new technological momentum into China's emergency response system.

These quadruped robots, aptly named "steel scouts" for their role at disaster sites, represent a new generation of rescue technology. Powered by China Telecom's high-quality 5G network infrastructure and advanced communication technologies developed in collaboration with ZTE, the robots achieve ultra-high-definition real-time video transmission at 20Mbps. Equipped with 360° panoramic cameras, dual-spectrum thermal imaging gimbals, and multi-type gas sensors, they can penetrate thick smoke and dense fog to accurately detect trapped victims' vital signs, quickly identify toxic and hazardous gas concentrations, and simultaneously stream environmental parameters along with synchronized audio, video, and three-dimensional environmental modeling data back to command centers.

What sets these robots apart is their biomimetic jointed leg structure, which grants them exceptional terrain adaptability. They can nimbly climb over rubble piles, traverse steel obstacles, and cross steps and slopes, easily entering collapsed buildings, mining accidents, and other high-risk areas that are inaccessible or too dangerous for human rescue teams. By taking over reconnaissance, search, and rescue missions in these perilous environments, the robots dramatically reduce the risk of secondary injuries and casualties, transforming emergency response from a gamble with human lives into a precise, data-driven operation.

At the heart of this solution lies China Telecom's three-layer "Space-Air-Ground" integration, full-domain coverage" emergency communication network architecture—a strategic innovation that ensures connectivity never fails, even in the most extreme conditions. In remote mountainous areas and earthquake-stricken regions where traditional ground base station signals cannot reach, the Tiantong satellite communication system provides stable and reliable satellite links for the quadruped robots, ensuring that even when communication infrastructure is completely destroyed, the robots maintain real-time connection with command centers.

When ground infrastructure fails, China Telecom's UAV-mounted aerial base stations can be airborne within 15 minutes, providing temporary 5G network coverage for rescue sites and enabling flexible, "fly-and-use" deployment. On the ground, nomadic base stations and backpack stations form the rapid response network layer. Rescue personnel can carry lightweight backpack base stations deep into the front lines, completing 5G network deployment within 30 minutes. Nomadic base stations can be quickly transported by personnel or small vehicles across complex terrain where vehicles cannot pass, establishing communication nodes in the most challenging environments.

This three-layer "Space-Air-Ground" communication architecture ensures that quadruped robots receive stable, high-speed network connections in any extreme environment, truly achieving its goal of uninterrupted signals and real-time data transmission.

In real-world deployments, the solution has demonstrated remarkable rescue effectiveness. In earthquake rubble rescue scenarios, quadruped robots can be rapidly deployed upon receiving commands, establishing seamless two-way communication with command centers through the 5G network jointly built by China Telecom and ZTE. Not only can they provide real-time feedback on building structures to avoid collapse risks, but they can also use microphones and speakers to establish rescue communication channels, remotely conversing with trapped victims to provide comfort and reassurance.

In chemical leakage and mine flooding responses, the robots can remain on-site for extended periods, continuously monitoring risk changes, accurately marking leak sources and safety zones, and providing data support for rescue decision-making. This transforms traditional rescue operations from "blind advancement" to "scientific, precise rescue", improving rescue efficiency by more than 40 percent.

The economic benefits are equally compelling. Through unmanned operations, the solution reduces human exposure in high-risk environments, lowers equipment loss and personnel protection costs, while avoiding expanded disaster losses due to delayed response. In pilot applications across key sectors such as mining and firefighting, the solution has already accumulated emergency response cost savings exceeding RMB 10 million.

The social benefits are perhaps even more profound. The deployment of these robots enables "zero-contact" operation in high-risk environments, effectively protecting the lives of frontline rescue teams while significantly shortening search-and-rescue time for trapped victims, improving survival rates. In multiple real-world exercises, the solution has received high praise from emergency management departments as "rubble-traversing, high-risk reconnaissance" technology. Moreover, the solution seamlessly integrates with existing emergency command platforms without requiring redundant construction, and its replicability and scalability provide efficient solutions for more scenarios such as forest fires and high-rise building firefighting, contributing to building a modern emergency system of "technology-based disaster prevention and intelligent rescue".

Looking ahead, China Telecom and ZTE representatives have expressed their commitment to deepening the three-party collaboration, leveraging next-generation communication technologies such as 5G-A to further optimize the robots' core capabilities in autonomous decision-making and payload delivery, driving emergency rescue equipment toward smarter, more efficient, and more reliable development, ensuring that technological achievements better protect people's lives and property, and contributing greater synergy to the modernization of national emergency management capabilities.

The future vision extends far beyond current capabilities. These emergency rescue quadruped robots will transcend the category of "tools" and evolve into "life arks" that connect the physical world with digital intelligence. Through deep integration of embodied AI large models, the robots will gain a "brain" capable of understanding and decision-making, enabling them to autonomously judge and execute tasks in complex disaster scenes. The deep integration of robotic arms will grant them "dexterous hands" beyond mere mobility, enabling precision operations such as breaching, debris clearing, and medical intervention. Combined with high-precision satellite positioning and navigation, they will achieve precise positioning even in extreme environments with weak or interrupted signals, never losing their way.

The synergy of these three elements will drive the evolution of robots from single-purpose tools into "on-site intelligent agents" capable of independently completing search, assessment, and intervention. This is not merely a technological upgrade, but a paradigm revolution—the construction of an all-weather, all-terrain intelligent rescue network that builds a forward-looking, robust defense line for protecting lives.

In a world where disasters strike without warning and every moment matters, China Telecom's vision of seamless connectivity and intelligent rescue represents more than technological achievement—it represents hope, resilience, and the promise that when the unthinkable happens, we will be ready.

Contributed by ZTE.