Just after the New Year, despite the cold wind blowing on the trail winding up Mount Tai in Tai’an, east China’s Shandong Province, enthusiastic climbers interacted with three robot dogs.
Mount Tai, China’s premier natural and cultural heritage, attracts millions of tourists from all over the world every year. Its varied topography and climatic conditions, however, pose sanitation challenges.
In order to promote the use of robot dogs in sanitation work on Mount Tai, the Taishan Cultural Tourism Group (TCTG) has launched the second robot dog test since the end of 2024 for a period of three months.
Faced with uneven and smooth steps, with a 20 kg package of goods on its back, a sanitation robot dog always maintains an even pace. According to the TCTG, this robot dog can support a maximum weight of 120 kg.
“The robot dog’s movement control algorithm based on training huge AI models has been optimized,” said Sun Baoyan, marketing director of Unitree Robotics Company, adding that this optimized robot dog can maintain a stable gait even when on treacherous stone steps, slippery roads or when encountering unexpected obstacles.
In addition, based on the results of the first test and the advice of sanitation staff, the garbage collection mode was changed. “The robot dog is equipped with a cloth bag with strap. Its lower center of gravity makes it easier for sanitation workers to collect waste,” Sun said.
In winter, when the temperature drops below zero degrees Celsius, despite the cold dew and ice on the steps, the robot dog remains stable thanks to its rubber “boots”.
“We focused on testing the stability and autonomy of the robot dog on snowy roads, and its performance is still good,” said Ma Yufei, head of the real estate company of Tai’an City Culture and Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd.
According to him, the successful completion of the test will help diversify the use of the robot dog, which will play an important role in the transportation of goods and rescue operations.
Next to the sanitation robot dog, there are two little sniggers who jump from time to time to earn applause from the climbers around them. Here are the two robot dogs presented in this test. Small, light and mobile, they are capable of operating in a highly frequented tourist site.
“In addition to issuing voice messages in favor of environmental protection and safety, the two little ones can interact with the climbers,” confirmed Mr. Ma, continuing that they can shake hands and dance all both, becoming one of the main attractions of Mount Tai.
As soon as she saw the robot dogs, Jia Xia, a mountain climber, walked over to take a closer look and used her cell phone to film the scene. “I’ve been to Mount Tai, but this is the first time I’ve seen robot dogs here. I find these robots very lively and I really like it.”
According to Mr Ma, the three robot dogs will carry out a number of tasks on Mount Tai. “This will provide smarter management and service solutions for the Mount Tai site, as well as help protect cultural and ecological heritage.”
