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Humanoid robots are, by definition, pretty extreme. Requiring top-of-the-line batteries, a high-degree of mobility, and a very accurate visual interface, there are few more instantly-recognizable feats of human engineering.
It makes sense, then, that one of their main use cases would be in drumming up spectacle. Humanoids have already taken part in underground fight clubs, long-distance marathons, and gnarly kung fu films.
Now, a humanoid is even “training” to complete one of the most daring spectacles ever conceived: scaling to the top of Mount Everest.
According to Humanoids Daily, a modified Unitree G1 unit has recently completed a trek to the top of Ecuador’s Chimborazo volcano. At 20,564 feet high, the summit of Chimborazo is higher than the infamous Denali — formerly Mount McKinley — the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak. Chimborazo is also technically farther away from the center of the Earth than Mount Everest, due to its position near the equator.
To be fair, the G1 didn’t exactly do it all on its own. As Humanoids reported, the robot walked autonomously along sections of the 16-hour trek to the summit with less than a 30-degree incline, but was carried for the rest.
Still, the effort resulted in some remarkable footage of the robot — decked out in special booties and a purpose-built warming jacket — sauntering around the snowy peak of Chimborazo.
Introducing Pemba.
The first humanoid to climb to 20,000ft.
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