China's humanoid robots generate more soccer excitement than their human counterparts

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 Artificial Intelligence (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 organiaers, 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.

Girls react to the T1 robot from Booster Robotics after the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition held in Beijing. AP

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.

Teams compete using the T1 robots from Booster Robotics during the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition. AP

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 emphasised safety as a core concern in the application of humanoid robots.

Workers carry out a T1 robot from Booster Robotics during the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition held in Beijing. AP

"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.”

A T1 robot from Booster Robotics demonstrates kicking a soccer ball at a fair ahead of the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition. AP

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.

Teams using autonomous T1 robots from Booster Robotics compete in the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition held in Beijing. AP

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.

Associated Press