Robots strut their stuff, race up sacred China mountain

Dozens of robots took on more than 3,000 steps up one of China's most famous peaks Monday, many carrying eggs and watermelons in a race organizers billed as a test of real-world machine endurance, state media showed.

For hundreds of years, Mount Tai -- the tallest peak in China's eastern Shandong province -- was an important pilgrimage for Chinese emperors, and it features prominently in Chinese mythology.

But the rugged terrain would prove a stern test for some competitors. One humanoid robot wearing a bandana collapsed in a heap on the cobbled route before engineers rushed in to repair it, while another tumbled down a flight of stairs and came to rest beside a rubbish bin.

The UNESCO World Heritage site hosted technologies of the future as part of a new World Mountain Robot Challenge, footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed.

 Over a 2.4-mile course with more than 1,970 feet 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 such as fresh eggs and watermelons to the summit.

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.

Most tourists take at least two hours to complete the route, according to CCTV.

The fastest humanoid robot -- belonging to Beijing-based team Zhishen Lingyue -- completed a shorter race course in 27 minutes and 26 seconds.

Organizers 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, organized 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.