Robots race up Mount Tai's 3,100 stone steps in China's first mountain contest

The inaugural CMG World Robot Mount Tai Competition wrapped up in Tai'an, in China's Shandong province. CMG stands for China Media Group, the state broadcaster that organized it and streamed the whole thing on its platforms.

Robots from companies, universities and research teams took on a real trail instead of a test track. Reports count the field differently: one says more than 50 groups took part, another says 90 domestic teams.

The event was billed as the world's first professional robot contest held on a mountain that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mount Tai has been a place of worship for at least 3,000 years.

Mount Tai is one of China's Sacred Mountains. Visitors climb its steep stone steps to reach Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist temples, cliffside stone inscriptions and wide views.

Hongmen, where the course began, is a traditional starting point for walkers, and that list includes emperors. So the robots were following a path with a very long guest book.

The contest did not start on race day. A qualifying phase opened on October 26 in Tai'an, and the main event followed on November 2.

The route ran from a gate called Hongmen to a landmark called Zhongtianmen. That is roughly 3.8 to 3.9 kilometers of trail.

• Steps: more than 3,100 stone steps.
• Climb: nearly 600 meters of total height gained.
• Surface: steps of different heights and widths, bumps in the stone, sharp bends and roadside obstacles.
• Landmarks: Wanxian Tower, Doumu Palace and the Stone Sutra Valley along the way.

In real life Picture carrying a full backpack up 3,100 stairs without a single handrail pause. Now picture doing it on four metal legs, with a battery that gets hotter with every step.

There were four main events. A fifth, separate challenge tested all-terrain exploration and pathfinding.

• Humanoid race: robots shaped like people ran the course.
• Legged race: four-legged robots, like robot dogs, raced to the top section.
• Legged load-carrying: robot dogs hauled cargo, including eggs and watermelons.
• Exoskeleton assistance: powered suits that help a human body climb.

A humanoid is a robot built in a human shape, with two legs and two arms. "Legged" simply means it walks on legs instead of rolling on wheels.

A Unitree robot dog won the legged race. The team from Beijing Lingyi Technology, which is a subsidiary of Unitree Robotics, finished first in 43 minutes and 41 seconds with a Unitree A2.

Shanghai Gaoyi Technology, another team using Unitree robots, took second. The Lingju team from Linxai Intelligent came third.

The load-carrying event was about stamina. The Lingshi team from Linxai Intelligence won in 1 hour, 51 minutes and 29 seconds, ahead of teams from Shanghai Gaoyi Technology and Shenzhen Technology University.

The humanoid race had to be shortened because the terrain was so demanding. It ran from Hongmen Square to Doumu Palace, and the Zhishen Lingyue team won in 27 minutes and 26 seconds.

This is the most useful part of the day. Some robots drifted sideways off their line, which engineers call posture deviation. Several load-carrying robots also walked unsteadily after their cargo was changed at supply points.

Long climbs strain the hardware too. Motors need cooling, batteries drain faster under load, and the whole machine has to keep its balance for an hour or more.

Walking well on a flat floor does not mean a robot is ready for outdoor work.

The catch: a gait is the pattern of steps a robot uses to walk. Stone stairs of uneven size force it to re-plan every single step, and that is hard to do reliably for a long time.

Judge Sung Qingwei said the biggest challenge was adapting to the mountain's terrain. The robots used a mix of cameras and LiDAR, a sensor that fires laser pulses and measures how long they take to bounce back, which builds a 3D map of the stairs ahead.

An expert quoted before the race put it simply: climbing a mountain takes far more than lifting a foot and stepping forward. A robot has to detect each step in real time and work out exactly where its foot will land.

Teams also had to manage balance and the movement of their joints. Dynamic balance means staying upright while the body is moving, not just standing still. Before race day, robots trained on a replica of the route built by Shandong CCRC Technology Group, with 11 test tracks that copy the real course.

One robot that drew attention was Walker Taishan, a Yobotics E1 humanoid that stands 1.4 meters tall and weighs 39 kilograms. It was reported as the first robot in its industry to attempt the climb.

The label for this field is embodied AI, which means artificial intelligence that lives inside a robot body and has to deal with the physical world. Organizers described the mountain as a natural extreme testing ground.

The stated goal is to push humanoid robots and similar products into factories and everyday life. Reported uses include forest fire prevention, geological monitoring, mountain rescue and delivering emergency supplies.

By the numbers: Chinese vendors made up 95% of humanoid robots shipped worldwide in the first half of the year, according to IDC data from September. For a closer look at how that supply chain is growing, see our story on Schaeffler's humanoid parts push.

China has become a major player in robotics, with companies building machines for healthcare, logistics, factories and homes. Robot makers often test their machines in tough real places, but a sacred mountain is an unusual choice.

Reports also say the organizers wanted to test balance and motion control, plus how well a robot senses and adapts to changing ground. Those same skills matter for working safely near people, and for search missions after earthquakes, floods or forest fires.

The event also included a Mount Tai Embodied Intelligence Industry Summit, a robotics supply-chain exhibition and an investment matchmaking session, so companies and investors could meet.

• Do not expect a robot hiking guide soon: the winners were fast, but they also stumbled, and no one has set a date for any outdoor job.
• Real-world tests are the new proof: demos on smooth floors say little, so contests like this show which machines hold up.
• Rescue and inspection come first: the uses people talk about are fire watch, ground monitoring and supply runs, not home help.
• Watch the boring parts: battery life and motor cooling decide whether a robot can work a full shift.