Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots stunned spectators in Beijing last month as they sprinted through a half-marathon race, showcasing dramatic advances in athletic ability and autonomous navigation that experts say are rapidly reshaping the future of robotics.

Now, one of those machines could soon face an even tougher challenge: climbing the slopes of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak.

During the April 19 half-marathon in Beijing, more than 100 robot teams took part in the race.

Several robots completed the 21-kilometre course faster than professional athletes.

The winning humanoid robot, developed by Chinese smartphone company Honor, crossed the finish line in 50 minutes and 26 seconds—faster than the human winners and several minutes ahead of the current half-marathon world record set by Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon on March 8 at 57 minutes and 20 seconds.

Inspired by those advances, Geologic Dome, a United States-registered non-profit organisation, in partnership with Nepal-based Fourteen Peaks Expedition Pvt Ltd, proposed deploying a humanoid robot on Everest during the 2026 spring climbing season.

The project is named PEMBA.

The project aims to test whether robots could eventually help collect garbage, monitor glaciers and assist in hazardous mountain operations on Everest, where tonnes of waste still remains.

According to documents obtained by the Post, the group has requested permission from Nepal’s authorities to operate a Unitree G1 humanoid robot in the Everest region as part of a 52-day research expedition.

The proposal, however, has encountered an unusual obstacle: Nepal currently has no legal framework governing non-human climbers on Everest.

“As soon as we received the proposal, we sought the tourism ministry’s view on it,” said Himal Gautam, director at the Department of Tourism. “The ministry has directed us to prepare a draft incorporating its concerns, modalities for charging fees and other aspects. Once the basic guidelines are enacted, permission will be granted.”

Because the regulatory process is still underway, the project is unlikely to move forward in the ongoing spring climbing season, which ends on May 29. Organisers are now hoping to conduct a test expedition in autumn instead or in winter.

Prajjwal Acharya, manager at Fourteen Peaks Expedition, said the plan remains on hold until the government finalises separate regulations for non-human Everest expeditions.

“However, if things go as planned, the test is likely in autumn [September-November],” Acharya said.

The robot at the centre of the proposal is the Unitree G1, a 35-kilogram fully electric, zero-emission bipedal machine designed for advanced mobility and dexterous operations.

Produced by Chinese robotics company Unitree, a company based in Hangzhou, China, the compact humanoid robot is designed for research, artificial intelligence development and consumer applications, with prices ranging from approximately $13,500 to $16,000.

Standing around 1.32 metres (about 4.33 feet) tall, the robot features 23 to 43 joint degrees of freedom, allowing agile movements such as dancing, walking and flipping.

Under the proposed mission, expedition members would disassemble the robot and carry it along Everest’s climbing route before reassembling it at various camps for testing. The machine would be evaluated from Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres up to Camp IV at 7,920 metres.

At each location, the robot would operate in supervised sessions lasting between 20 and 40 minutes within a 100- to 200-metre radius of a base station.

Project documents state that no bipedal ground robot has ever operated in the Himalayas above 5,000 metres.

Researchers hope to collect the first-ever dataset on humanoid robot movement, battery performance and joint torque under extreme Himalayan conditions.

The findings are expected to be published as an open-access benchmark for the global robotics community.

The proposal also outlines plans for the robot to collect garbage from various camps using its three-finger mechanical hands, each capable of carrying payloads of between two and three kilograms.

Organisers say the demonstrations would support Nepal’s Clean Mountain Strategy 2025–2029.

Pablo Berlanga Boemare, chief executive officer of Geologic Dome, told the Post in an email that the organisation was interested in bringing a robot to Nepal and potentially deploying it in the mountains.

“We think we are at a point in history where it is really important to raise awareness about the rise of these machines for everyday use,” he said.

“We brought the robot into Nepal, conducted some tests in and around Kathmandu, and were considering taking it to the Sagarmatha National Park. We held discussions with the government for two months, and the feedback we received was that it would be better to wait a year because Nepal currently lacks a robotics legal framework.”

He added: “Some laws needed to be passed through Parliament before that option could even be considered, so we decided to respect that and move forward accordingly.”

“Our goal is that if we can introduce new technology to Indigenous communities in and around beautiful parks across the world, and educate them on how to use these technologies, they can help protect and preserve their land.”

The expedition also aims to deploy small sensor packages at multiple elevations to collect climate and glacier data. But operating a humanoid robot in Everest’s death zone presents extraordinary engineering challenges.

According to the proposal, lithium-ion batteries can lose between 50 and 80 percent of their capacity at temperatures below minus 20 degrees Celsius. The team says it plans to address the issue using custom heated battery enclosures, quick-swap pre-warmed battery packs and insulated carrying systems managed by expedition staff.

The proposal also notes that standard lubricants freeze in extreme cold, while precision gears can become misaligned because of thermal contraction. To address the problem, the team plans to use aerospace-grade fluorinated lubricants similar to those used in Mars rovers and spacecraft mechanisms.

The developers say the Unitree G1 underwent cold-weather testing in China’s Altay region in February 2026, where it reportedly completed more than 130,000 steps in temperatures as low as minus 47.4 degrees Celsius.

The terrain itself remains one of the greatest unknowns.

“No bipedal robot has walked on Everest-grade mixed rock, ice and moraine,” the proposal states.

To overcome that challenge, the team says it is working with researchers associated with Google DeepMind to develop reinforcement-learning locomotion systems capable of adapting to unstable terrain in real time.

The proposal also addresses the effects of reduced air density at high altitude. At 8,000 metres, air density drops to roughly 43 percent of sea-level conditions, sharply reducing cooling efficiency for onboard computers.

The team says it has designed a dual-zone thermal system that separates heated battery compartments from passively cooled electronics, allowing processors to use the surrounding extreme cold as a natural heat sink.

Communication poses another challenge. Since cellular networks do not exist above Everest Base Camp, the project plans to use a Starlink terminal at base camp while relying on fully autonomous onboard systems higher on the mountain.

The proposal argues that the technology could eventually help Nepal address several long-term challenges in the Everest region, including crevasse monitoring in the Khumbu Icefall, waste retrieval, search-and-rescue missions and glacier monitoring.

At the conclusion of the expedition, Geologic Dome says it plans to donate the robot and all related equipment—including batteries, charging infrastructure and thermal protection systems—to a local partner organisation in the Khumbu region.

The organisation has also pledged to train Nepali researchers and technicians to continue operating the robot in future climbing seasons.

The expedition is expected to produce a feature-length documentary intended for international distribution, potentially positioning Nepal as an emerging testing ground for extreme-environment robotics research.

If approved, the project would mark not only the first humanoid robot deployment on Everest, but also the first time Nepal formally recognises the possibility of a non-human climber on the world’s highest peak.