In a historic showcase of robotics excellence, two Chinese teams swept the top positions at the RoboCup Humanoid League in Brazil on Monday. Tsinghua University’s team, Hephaestus, clinched the championship with a 5-3 victory over China Agricultural University’s team, Mountain & Sea, marking the first time a Chinese team has lifted the title in the tournament’s 28-year history.
From the group stages, Chinese teams demonstrated unparalleled dominance. Tsinghua’s Hephaestus, powered by domestically developed T1 humanoid robots featuring an accelerated evolution design, overwhelmed opponents with a series of decisive victories. These included staggering wins of 16-0, 9-0, and 12-0 against teams like UT Austin Villa from the United States.
Other Chinese teams also made significant impacts. Tsinghua’s team TH-MOS secured second place in the kid size category, showcasing the depth of talent and innovation in China’s robotics programs.
Notably, both Chinese and international teams, including those from Germany and the U.S., utilized China-made humanoid robots such as the T1 and K1. This trend underscores the growing global influence of Chinese robotics technology. The German champions of the kid size event, Boosted HTWK, also relied on the K1 robots.
“These actions reflect actual model training and decision-making by the robot,” said Yang Shaoshuai, team leader of Mountain & Sea. “Our 9-0 victory over traditional powerhouse UT Austin Villa in the semifinals was due to our advantages in visual positioning, navigation, and decision-making, which stemmed from solid preparation. But Tsinghua had an even more advanced decision-making algorithm—they deserve the win.”
Cheng Hao, founder of Booster Robotics and the official hardware supplier for the RoboCup, commented on the significance of this achievement. “For the first time, a Chinese hardware platform, thanks to its performance and developer-friendly tools, became the go-to equipment for a top-tier global competition,” he said. “China’s robots have now become a core force on the world’s competitive stage.”
