Robot football is real now - Watch AI humanoids play their first match
Historical match in Beijing (photo: x.com/beINSPORTS_EN)
Beijing has hosted the world's first fully autonomous 3v3 football match between humanoid robots powered solely by artificial intelligence, without any human intervention, reports the Associated Press.
How it works
The match was organized and held by teams of developers from Tsinghua University and China Agricultural University.
Each robot was equipped with cameras and sensors that allowed it to automatically see the ball and navigate the field. AI decided when to pass, shoot, or move.
The robots could even get up on their own after falling. However, at times, staff were needed to carry a "fallen player" off the field..
Still, this unique match demonstrated the rapid advancement of robot capabilities–not only can they move and fall, but also interact and make strategic decisions on the field.
The Tsinghua University team won the match with a score of 5:3. After scoring, some robots even celebrated by raising their arms.
Why this matters
Organizers emphasized that sports competitions offer an ideal environment to test robots, as they combine algorithms and hardware in a safe yet realistic setting.
Talks are already underway about the potential for future "human vs robot" football matches.
This match served as a rehearsal for the first stage of the World Humanoid Robot Games, scheduled on August 15-17 in Beijing during the World Robot Conference.
Earlier, we reported that NAVI will compete in the Dota 2 Esports World Cup.
