China hosts first robot football match

The RoBoLeague Robot Football Tournament took place at the Smart Esports Arena in Yizhuang, Beijing, marking China's first fully autonomous 3-vs-3 humanoid robot football match. This event served as the inaugural test for the upcoming 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games, featuring four teams: the Blaze team from Beijing Information Science and Technology University, the Power AI team and Huoshen team from Tsinghua University, and the Shanhai team from China Agricultural University.

All participating robots operated autonomously, utilizing real-time visual systems to perceive the ball, goals, and teammates, making decisions on their own without human intervention. The robots demonstrated impressive capabilities, including the ability to stand up after falling during the match.

After three hours of competition, Tsinghua University's Huoshen team emerged as the champion, with China Agricultural University’s Shanhai team finishing as the runner-up. The Power AI team and Blaze team tied for third place. The event showcased the potential of robotic programming and AI strategies in sports, despite the robots' limited movement and skills.

While the robots displayed entertaining yet clumsy attempts at kicking the ball, the competition served a scientific purpose, allowing university teams to test their algorithms and programming. Tsinghua University’s THU Robotics won the final match against the Mountain Sea team from China Agricultural University with a score of 5-3.

Looking ahead, Cheng Hao, founder and CEO of Booster Robotics, expressed the possibility of future matches between robots and humans, emphasizing the need for safety in such scenarios. Although the robots are not yet a threat to human players, the event highlighted the advancements in robotic technology and AI, paving the way for more sophisticated interactions in the future.