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Unitree G1 overheats and withdraws from Mount Tai climb: why humanoid robots can't handle mountain climbing

On November 2, at the first CMG World Robot Mount Tai Climbing Competition, the Unitree G1 developer edition withdrew due to overheating and was carried down the mountain by staff on a stretcher. The author argues the problem is not just cooling components, but a zero-sum contest inside the chassis among compute, battery, and heat dissipation for limited space and power. The G1 has a 9000mAh battery and a runtime on the order of about two hours; during continuous ascent, joint motors sustain high-torque output, accelerating thermal degradation. The article also cites CAICT report data: in the first half of the year, global humanoid robot shipments exceeded 22,000 units, with more than 60% going to entertainment performances and science education/data collection, while intelligent manufacturing scenarios accounted for about 13%.

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