Robots Play Soccer! 🤖⚽ Tsinghua University Wins China’s First 3-on-3 Robot Match
Imagine robots playing soccer all by themselves! That’s exactly what happened in Beijing 🏟️ this weekend.
Four teams of humanoid robots faced off in China’s first-ever 3-on-3 robot soccer game. These robots weren’t controlled by joysticks or remote controls—they played using their own artificial intelligence (AI) brains! 🧠
Robots Running the Show 🤖
The robots could see the ball with special cameras 👀, find their way around the field, and even get back up if they fell down. They didn’t need any help from humans during the game. How cool is that?
But sometimes, the robots had a little trouble and had to be carried off the field on stretchers. After all, playing soccer is tough—even for robots! 😅
Tsinghua University Takes the Win 🏆
In the final match, Tsinghua University’s team, called THU Robotics, scored a 5-3 victory against the Mountain Sea Team from China Agricultural University. Congratulations to the champions! 🎉
Why Robot Sports? 🏃♂️🤖
China is using sports like marathons, boxing, and soccer to test and improve their humanoid robots. Playing sports helps robots learn to move better and make smarter decisions.
Cheng Hao, the boss of Booster Robotics—the company that made the robot players—said that sports events are great for helping robots get better. They’re working hard to make robots safe so that one day, robots and humans might play soccer together! Wouldn’t that be amazing? 🤔
“In the future, we might have robots playing soccer with humans. We need to make sure robots are completely safe,” Cheng said.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work 🤝
Booster Robotics provided the hardware (the robot bodies), and the university teams programmed them with their own software. They taught the robots how to see, decide what to do, and work together as a team.
This big robot soccer game was also a sneak peek at the World Humanoid Robot Games, which will happen in Beijing this August. We can’t wait to see what the robots will do next! 🚀
Reference(s):
Tsinghua University wins China's 1st humanoid robot 3×3 football event
cgtn.com
