Robotic Mountaineers Gear Up to Climb Mount Tai
Robotic mountaineers are undergoing final preparations for the inaugural China Media Group (CMG) World Robot Mount Tai Competition. The main event will take place next Monday in Tai’an City, east China’s Shandong Province.
Ahead of the final, CMG held a qualifying round on Monday featuring four events: legged robot racing, legged robot load-bearing, all-terrain scouting, and humanoid robot racing. All events started from Hongmen Square at the foot of Mount Tai, with different landmarks on the mountain serving as finish lines.
The course consists mainly of long stretches of stone steps, slopes, and sharp turns. These conditions test the robots’ ability to perceive their surroundings, make decisions independently, maintain balance, and endure sustained physical demands.
Following the qualifiers, engineers are making final adjustments to their machines ahead of the main event. The best-performing robots can reach the finish line in less than an hour, significantly faster than the engineers accompanying them.
“At the average speed achieved in practical training, it can reach the event finish line at Zhongtianmen in less than an hour. It can judge for itself how to avoid obstacles and plan routes in real time. During this period, we can enjoy running with the robot during the day and go back at night to optimize the algorithms. After training on this complex Mount Tai course, robots can better adapt to scenarios like material delivery and inspection,” said contestant Wang Kaimin.
According to CCTV+, the competition on Mount Tai provides a challenging environment for testing robots’ stability, autonomous navigation, and endurance. The experience gained could support the wider use of robotics in practical applications such as material delivery, site inspections, and other field operations.
