The inaugural CMG World Robot Taishan Mountain Climbing Competition was held on Nov 2 in Tai'an, East China's Shandong province.

Alongside the race, Tai'an hosted a series of events including an embodied intelligence industry development fair, a fund empowerment matchmaking session, a technology exchange meeting, and an industry expo — achieving multiple outcomes in competition, industrial matchmaking, technology exchange, and cultural tourism promotion.

The competition created a new real-world testing scenario for mountain robotics, with 89 teams from 12 provincial-level regions competing on the Hongmen–Zhongtianmen trail. A total of 110 companies joined the exhibition, and 28 industrial projects worth 3.95 billion yuan ($588 million) were signed, yielding multiple outcomes in competition, industrial collaboration, technological exchange, and cultural tourism promotion.

To provide real-world training and testing conditions for domestic and international robotics enterprises and research institutions, the city will open parts of Taishan Mountain and related robot training grounds in a scientific, orderly, and free manner, while coordinating scenario supply-demand matching, data and computing support, and project implementation services.

Efforts will focus on using data to support embodied intelligence R&D, emphasizing data resource supply, collection scenarios, processing and governance, and industry cultivation, while building richer datasets for mountain environments.

Taishan Mountain Scenic Area will implement a mechanism requiring teams to first complete training at the mountain's base before conducting real-world tests on the mountain. Qualified teams will enjoy free entry for staff and waived site usage fees, ensuring a standardized, convenient, and reliable testing environment while protecting the area's cultural and natural heritage.

China Customer Relations Centers, the event's technical and training support provider, will open its simulation and real-world training grounds free of charge to global robotics enterprises, universities, and R&D teams, while expanding and upgrading its facilities. It will also establish tiered training standards and improve supporting services such as robot stations.

Free basic data labeling services for Taishan Mountain climbing scenarios will be provided to participating robotics enterprises by Chongqing Fellisen, a leading AI data service provider in China, to support training and technological iteration.

A robot navigates the ancient stone steps of Taishan Mountain during the inaugural CMG World Robot Taishan Mountain Climbing Competition, held on Nov 2 in Tai'an, East China's Shandong province. [Photo by Chen Yang/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]