The New Robotics ‘Arms Race’: Who Can Do the Craziest Hype Video?

A couple months ago, a humanoid robot was dispatched to the top of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo, the surface point farthest from the center of the planet. It was a stunt arranged by Geologic Dome, a nonprofit that uses AI and robotics for nature conservation, which had obtained the robot from the robotics arm of Virtuals Protocol, a crypto startup.

Along with the robot, Geologic Dome sent a videographer, who hauled up three cameras to shoot clips the nonprofit could use to promote its cause. One clip shows the robot, clad in a purple winter coat and black mittens, plodding over the snowy peak. In other footage, it dances its heart out to a swing tune.

Though these clips might give the impression that robots can now rival humans when it comes to mountaineering, the robot had significant help in scaling Mount Chimborazo. A squad of flesh-and-blood people took turns carrying the 70-pound machine for much of the four-day trek to the summit. “We were 10 people, and I think six finished the expedition with back problems,” said Geologic Dome founder Pablo Berlanga Boemare, laughing.