Across China: Robot dogs being tested in quest to keep Mount Tai clean

27/10/2024 15:59

        Carrying nearly 40 kilograms despite their slender limbs, an unusual group of robot dogs were recently spotted moving up and down the steps on Mount Tai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in east China's Shandong Province.
        
        These robot dogs were undergoing weight-bearing climbing tests. Their mission is to free human porters from the longstanding challenge of garbage removal on Mount Tai.
        
        Ma Yufei, head of the property management team at Taishan Cultural Tourism Group, explained that these robots are industrial-grade quadruped machines developed by a domestic technology company.
        
        Regarded as the foremost one of the Five Great Mountains of China, Mount Tai is of both historical and cultural significance. However, due to its steep terrain and narrow, winding roads, large-scale mechanized cleaning operations have long been unfeasible on Mount Tai.