Beijing's latest spectacle involved cutting-edge, if clumsy, performances as four university-developed humanoid robot teams clashed in China's first-ever fully autonomous 3-v-3 football tournament. More than a novelty, the contest is also a testbed for AI-driven robotics and a prelude to the World Humanoid Robot Games. the following report explores the event’s context, key moments, and future significance.
What Happened? The Beijing Robot Football Tournament Held on June 28, 2025, at a custom-built artificial field in Beijing, this first-ever tournament featured ROBO League, a three‑on‑three game mode played entirely by humanoid robots. Tsinghua University, China Agricultural University ("Mountain Sea"), Beijing Information Science and Technology University, and other universities competed using hardware from Booster Robotics and AI algorithms developed independently by each university.
Robot Highlights: Kicks, Falls and Stretchers The robots, equipped with visual sensors and independent decision‑making, showed stunning agility at times, including during goal celebrations, but frequently tripped over the ball, collided with one another, and fell spectacularly. Humanoids were carried off at least twice after failing to get back up. Booster Robotics CEO Cheng Hao noted that such "injuries" offer valuable information for safety and design improvements.
Results and Reactions In a thrilling final, Tsinghua University's THU Robotics took down China Agricultural University's Mountain Sea team in a 5–3 victory. Mr. Wu, a Tsinghua supporter, praised both teams: "They (THU) performed very well … but Mountain Sea … surprised us a lot." This reaction mirrored viewers' mixed surprise at the robotics feats and the entertaining fails.
Background and Context: Where Robotics Meets Reality China has been ramping up its AI‑humanoid robotics program. Humanoids struggled through a Beijing half‑marathon early this year, overheating and stumbling but captivating global attention. Globally, humanoid robotic soccer has its origins in initiatives like RoboCup, established in 1996 with the mission of pushing autonomous soccer robots to match human champions by 2050. The Beijing event is a prelude to the World Humanoid Robot Games, scheduled for August 15–17, 2025, as part of the World Robot Conference. The Games will be expanded to 19 diverse events—from football and gymnastics to scenario‑based missions.
Significance and Future Outlook Real‑world interaction challenges, collision management, autonomous recovery, and decision‑making provide useful lessons for engineering advancements. Booster Robotics asserts these test games build public confidence and teach safe human‑robot teamwork; Cheng Hao anticipates future hybrid games "where winning doesn't matter, but actual offensive and defensive interactions occur".