Humanoid Robots Play Soccer Tournament in China

Beijing hosted the inaugural RoBoLeague 3‑on‑3 humanoid robot soccer tournament this weekend. Four teams from different universities competed using humanoid robots from the Chinese company Booster Robotics.

According to Associated Press (AP), the event was a success thanks to the entertainment provided by the fully autonomous, AI-powered machines. The match offered a preview of the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games, set to take place during the World Robot Conference in August.

Although the robots did not demonstrate physical abilities or skills on par with high-performance athletes, the sporting event attracted new fans due to its use of cutting-edge technology. The competition sparked an enthusiasm that China’s official national soccer team—currently ranked 94th in FIFA’s world rankings—has not managed to generate recently.

Booster Robotics provided the machines, T1 humanoids, used for the competition. The company’s CEO and founder, Cheng Hao, shared his vision and expectations for the future of the technology in the sector.

“In the future, we may arrange for robots to play football with humans. That means we must ensure the robots are completely safe,” said Cheng to AP. “For example, a robot and a human could play a match where winning doesn’t matter, but real offensive and defensive interactions take place. That would help audiences build trust and understand that robots are safe.”

Tsinghua University’s THU Robotics won the tournament, with a score of 5-3, beating the China Agricultural University’s Mountain Sea team.

According to NBC News, each robot was equipped with multiple sensors that allowed them to identify the ball in the field, play, and stand up after falling—although a few of them needed human help, and others were taken off the field by human paramedics.

China has already held multiple sporting events featuring humanoid robots this year. In April, the first half marathon between robots and humans took place, and just a few weeks ago, the first kickboxing event between AI-powered machines using advanced technology was held.