Tsinghua University’s THU Robotics team clinched victory in China’s first-ever 3-on-3 humanoid robot football championship held in Beijing on Saturday night. The groundbreaking event showcased fully autonomous robots powered entirely by artificial intelligence, marking a significant milestone in robotics and AI development.
The competition featured four university teams, each fielding humanoid robots equipped with advanced visual sensors and AI-driven strategies. Without any human intervention or supervision, the robots identified the ball, navigated the field, and even stood up on their own after falls. Despite their impressive capabilities, a few robots still had to be carried off the field by staff during the intense matches.
This event served as a preview for the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games, scheduled to take place in Beijing this August. Cheng Hao, founder and CEO of Booster Robotics—the company that supplied the robot players—emphasized the importance of such sporting events in advancing humanoid robot technology.
“Sporting events provide an ideal testing ground for humanoid robots, accelerating the development of both algorithms and integrated hardware-software systems,” Cheng said. “In the future, we may arrange for robots to play football with humans. That means we must ensure the robots are completely safe.”
Each university team developed its own algorithms for perception, decision-making, player formations, and passing strategies, customizing the robots supplied by Booster Robotics. In the thrilling final match, THU Robotics defeated the China Agricultural University’s Mountain Sea Team with a score of 5-3 to claim the championship.
China is ramping up efforts in AI-powered humanoid robotics, using sporting competitions like marathons, boxing matches, and football games as real-world proving grounds. Events like this not only push technological boundaries but also help build public trust in robot safety and capabilities.
