BEIJING: Dozens of robots took on more than 3,000 steps up one of China's most famous peaks on Nov 2, carrying eggs and watermelons in a race organisers billed as a test of real-world machine endurance.
For hundreds of years, Mount Tai – the tallest peak in China's eastern Shandong province – was an important pilgrimage for Chinese emperors and features prominently in Chinese mythology.
But on Nov 2, the Unesco World Heritage site hosted technologies of the future as part of a new World Mountain Robot Challenge.
Over a 3.9km course with more than 600m of ascent, robots and their engineers from around 90 teams were tasked with either completing the route as fast as possible or transporting fragile goods like fresh eggs and watermelons to the summit.
Not all the machines were up to the rugged terrain.
One humanoid robot in a bandana collapsed in a heap on the cobbled streets, before engineers rushed in to conduct repairs.
Another tripped and clattered down a whole flight of stairs, coming to rest next to a rubbish bin on the route.
A canine robot made by Beijing Lingyi Technology – a subsidiary of industry giant Unitree – completed the course in 43 minutes, 41 seconds, to win the four-legged speed category.
Organisers called Mount Tai's rocky terrain a "natural extreme testing ground" that could help train robots for real-world use, local media reported.
The race, organised by the state-run China Media Group, featured cash prizes for winners in several categories, including the fastest robots and the best load-carrying four-legged machine. – AFP
