- Quadrupedal robots tackle multi-task course
- Event targets real-world industrial deployment
Hangzhou will host a high-profile competition in May to test how close four-legged robots are to handling real-world inspection work autonomously, as the city ramps up efforts to facilitate the deployment and commercialization of these innovations.
The Yangtzeer reported earlier that this test is part of the 2026 Hangzhou International Embodied Robot Scenario Application Competition, scheduled to take place on May 15-16 in Yunqi Town, a high-tech park, in Xihu District.
The challenge, focusing on quadruped multimodal inspection, unfolds across a roughly 5-by-4 meter course featuring zones for start-stop operations, obstacle avoidance, stairs, object handling and inspection tasks.
Teams are required to use Unitree Robotics’s Go2 robots to navigate the course, completing a sequence of movements, object transfers and identification tasks without failure.
The competition evaluates three core capabilities: mobility, manipulation and perception.
Robots must traverse obstacles and stairs without slipping, securely transport items between platforms, and distinguish between objects while responding to warning signals—mirroring the workflow of a human inspector.
A defining rule is the absence of remote control. “The goal is to guide teams to integrate intelligent perception algorithms with quadruped robots,” an event organizer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Participants must rely entirely on onboard sensing and autonomous navigation, with robots executing tasks independently.
“This both develops participants’ programming, algorithm design and task planning capabilities, and tests the robot’s performance when combined with visual algorithms.”
The requirement reflects real-world conditions, particularly in high-risk environments such as firefighting, where robots are expected to operate in places inaccessible to humans.
To be trusted in such roles, machines must demonstrate fully autonomous perception, decision-making and execution, rather than depend on manual control.
Unlike traditional competitions that focus on single skills such as running speed or grasping, the event requires robots to perform a sequence of tasks, combining perception, recognition and movement in a continuous workflow.
Organizers say this raises the bar while aligning more closely with industrial use cases.
The broader aim is to accelerate adoption of quadruped robots in sectors such as industrial inspection, power infrastructure and oil and gas, where automating repetitive and hazardous tasks remains a priority.
