China’s Humanoid Robots Excite Soccer Fans More Than Human Players

Do you remember the post I made about humanoid robots joining marathons now? If you haven’t read it, here’s where you can read it.

Now, did you know that humanoid robots are playing soccer too?

Yep, you read that right!

Recently, China’s men’s soccer team hasn’t been getting much attention, which is a bummer. But guess what? In Beijing, robot soccer teams are becoming popular and getting a lot of fans! 

How cool is that?

China continues to create AI-powered humanoid robots that can play sports like marathons, boxing, and football. 

You may wonder why.

Cheng Hao, the founder and CEO of Booster Robotics, explained that sports competitions are perfect for testing these robots. They help speed up the technology development needed to run the robots. Just like what the robot marathons were for!

Recently, in a soccer game, four teams of AI-powered humanoid robots played 3-on-3 matches all by themselves. This was a first for China and a preview of the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.

All the robots played without any human help, using AI-driven strategies. They even had advanced visual sensors that let them easily see the ball and move around the field.

The robots were even built to stand back up if they fell down, but some still had to be carried off the field during the games.

In the final match, Tsinghua University’s THU Robotics team beat the China Agricultural University’s Mountain Sea team, scoring 5–3 to win the championship.

Booster Robotics provided the robots for all four university teams, but each team made its own special programs to help the robots see, think, and decide how to play.

Each school’s research team developed and embedded its algorithms for perception, decision-making, player formations, and passing strategies, including speed, force, and direction.

Cheng Hao also mentioned that safety is important when using robots in sports. He said that someday, robots might play soccer with people. 

When that happens, robots must be safe to play with. This way, everyone can feel comfortable and trust that the robots won’t cause any harm.

Comment below with your thought.