Latest news with #RoBoLeague
Digital Trends
a day ago
- Sport
- Digital Trends
Watch these AI humanoid robots play soccer like Mbappé … sort of
Watching these humanoid robots battle it out on the soccer field, you quickly realize that Kylian Mbappé and his fellow professionals really have little to worry about. At least, for now. The footage (top) was captured last week in Beijing at the RoBoLeague World Robot Soccer League, China's first-ever three-on-three humanoid robot soccer league. It shows shows a semi-final game fought between the Vulcan Team from Tsinghua University and the Blaze Light Team from Beijing Information & Science Technology University. The AI-powered robots in all of the games were fully autonomous, with no human intervention or remote control allowed during play. For humanoid robots, they're pretty impressive when it comes to kicking a ball around. But compared to their professional counterparts, they're still something of a lost cause. Watching humanoid robots play soccer is great entertainment, however. Some of them don't appear to have any idea what's going on, while others stumble around as if they've been imbibing some kind of made-for-bots booze. Where they do excel over their human counterparts, however, is in the way they quickly get back on their feet after taking a tumble, eschewing the kind of absurd theatrics that you often get in pro soccer games. And while the robots' movements are sometimes clumsy, with frequent falls and pileups, they do nevertheless demonstrate an impressive ability to autonomously respond to fast-changing scenarios on the field. The RoBoLeague is primarily designed to showcase China's advances in robotic technology, with the best players able to demonstrate skills like agility, coordination, balance, strategic decision-making, object interaction and, of course, fall recovery. The contest is also a warm-up for next year's World Humanoid Robot Games, where we'll see robots facing each other across a range of sports. The humanoid robot sector is a highly competitive one and huge sums of money are being poured into their development. While China is making some notable advancements, U.S.-based companies, among others, are also working hard to create bots able to perform human tasks efficiently with a view to putting them in the workplace, or even offering them as home helpers.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Humanoid footballers stumble through their first tournament in China
China's first three-on-three humanoid robot soccer league, the RoBoLeague World Robot Soccer League, officially kicked off at the Beijing Smart Esports Event Centre on Saturday. The humanoid footballers showcased real-time decision-making, coordinated teamwork and even the ability to self-recover after falling. The optimised penalty system minimised interruptions, allowing the 1.2- to 1.5-metre-tall robots to execute fluid movements and well-orchestrated attacks, mimicking human football tactics
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
AI robots play football matches in China, show off skills, and take a few falls
There's a lot that has been done using artificial intelligence, including chatbots and agentic AI. But now, AI-powered robots have been used to play an actual football match. Yes, this is exactly what has happened in Beijing, wherein four teams of humanoid robots participated in 3-on-3 football matches on Saturday night. This was reportedly a preview of what is to come at the World Humanoid Robot Games, expected soon in Beijing, AP reported. Robots battling it out in the field at the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition held in Beijing, Saturday, June 28, 2025. ((AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)) The report added these humanoid robots were functioning fully autonomously on artificial intelligence, and there was no human support involved. Now, how does a humanoid robot function on its own without human intervention? Well, firstly, they would need sensors and hardware capable enough to navigate their weight through the field, and this is exactly what the case is in this instance as well. These robots had advanced visual sensors, and they could identify the ball and go through the field accordingly, the report added. Further, the robots are also able to stand on their own if they accidentally do fall, just like real-life players do. But not all was smooth sailing for the humanoid robots involved in this game, as many had to be carried off the field, t As for the final match, Tsinghua University's THU Robotics actually ended up defeating China Agricultural University's Mountain Sea Team in a score that was, at the end of the match, 5 to 3, and they did end up winning the championship. China Is Boosting Its Robotics Prowess There are already talks in place which might allow humanoid robots to play alongside humans. But for this, safety would be a great priority, Cheng Hao, founder and CEO of Booster Robotics, who provided the hardware for the competition, said. He said that in the future, "we may arrange for robots to play football with humans. That means we must ensure the robots are completely safe." He added, '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.' MOBILE FINDER: iPhone 16 LATEST Price and More (With AP Inputs)
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
China's humanoid robots generate more soccer excitement than their human counterparts
Teams using autonomous T1 robots from Booster Robotics compete in the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition held in Beijing, Saturday, June 28, 2025. — AP BEIJING: While China's men's soccer team hasn't generated much excitement in recent years, humanoid robot teams have won over fans in Beijing based more on the AI technology involved than any athletic prowess shown. Four teams of humanoid robots faced off in fully autonomous 3-on-3 soccer matches powered entirely by artificial intelligence on Saturday night (June 28) in China's capital in what was touted as a first in China and a preview for the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games, set to take place in Beijing. According to the organisers, a key aspect of the match was that all the participating robots operated fully autonomously using AI-driven strategies without any human intervention or supervision. Equipped with advanced visual sensors, the robots were able to identify the ball and navigate the field with agility. They were also designed to stand up on their own after falling. However, during the match several still had to be carried off the field on stretchers by staff, adding to the realism of the experience. China is stepping up efforts to develop AI-powered humanoid robots, using sports competitions like marathons, boxing, and football as a real-world proving ground. Cheng Hao, founder and CEO of Booster Robotics, the company that supplied the robot players, said sports competitions offer the ideal testing ground for humanoid robots, helping to accelerate the development of both algorithms and integrated hardware-software systems. He also emphasized safety as a core concern in the application of humanoid robots. "In the future, we may arrange for robots to play football with humans. That means we must ensure the robots are completely safe,' Cheng said. "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.' Booster Robotics provided the hardware for all four university teams, while each school's research team developed and embedded their own algorithms for perception, decision-making, player formations, and passing strategies-including variables such as speed, force, and direction, according to Cheng. In the final match, Tsinghua University's THU Robotics defeated the China Agricultural University's Mountain Sea team with a score of 5-3 to win the championship. Mr. Wu, a supporter of Tsinghua, celebrated their victory while also praising the competition. "They (THU) did really well,' he said. "But the Mountain Sea team (of Agricultural University) was also impressive. They brought a lot of surprises.' China's men have made only one World Cup appearance and have already been knocked out of next years' competition in Canada, Mexico and the United States. – AP
Asahi Shimbun
2 days ago
- Sport
- Asahi Shimbun
China's humanoid robots generate more soccer excitement than their human counterparts
Workers carry out a T1 robot from Booster Robotics during the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition held in Beijing, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo) BEIJING--While China's men's soccer team hasn't generated much excitement in recent years, humanoid robot teams have won over fans in Beijing based more on the AI technology involved than any athletic prowess shown. Four teams of humanoid robots faced off in fully autonomous 3-on-3 soccer matches powered entirely by artificial intelligence on Saturday night in China's capital in what was touted as a first in China and a preview for the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games, set to take place in Beijing. According to the organizers, a key aspect of the match was that all the participating robots operated fully autonomously using AI-driven strategies without any human intervention or supervision. Equipped with advanced visual sensors, the robots were able to identify the ball and navigate the field with agility They were also designed to stand up on their own after falling. However, during the match several still had to be carried off the field on stretchers by staff, adding to the realism of the experience. China is stepping up efforts to develop AI-powered humanoid robots, using sports competitions like marathons, boxing, and football as a real-world proving ground. Cheng Hao, founder and CEO of Booster Robotics, the company that supplied the robot players, said sports competitions offer the ideal testing ground for humanoid robots, helping to accelerate the development of both algorithms and integrated hardware-software systems. He also emphasized safety as a core concern in the application of humanoid robots. 'In the future, we may arrange for robots to play football with humans. That means we must ensure the robots are completely safe,' Cheng said. '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.' Booster Robotics provided the hardware for all four university teams, while each school's research team developed and embedded their own algorithms for perception, decision-making, player formations, and passing strategies—including variables such as speed, force, and direction, according to Cheng. In the final match, Tsinghua University's THU Robotics defeated the China Agricultural University's Mountain Sea team with a score of 5–3 to win the championship. Mr. Wu, a supporter of Tsinghua, celebrated their victory while also praising the competition. 'They (THU) did really well,' he said. 'But the Mountain Sea team (of Agricultural University) was also impressive. They brought a lot of surprises.' China's men have made only one World Cup appearance and have already been knocked out of next years' competition in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
