Beijing hosts first football match between humanoid robots
Four teams competed in a three-on-three tournament, between spectacular falls and clumsy goals, marking a step forward in the experimentation of artificial intelligence applied to sport
2' min read
2' min read
It is not yet time to retire Kylian Mbappé, but on Saturday 28 June, a match that could mark the future of football was played in Beijing: four teams of humanoid robots competed in a three-on-three tournament powered by artificial intelligence. The match, part of a university competition, saw the robots stumble awkwardly and collapse to the ground, giving rise to antics more akin to a gag than football action. Two 'players' were even carried off on stretchers after losing their balance without being able to get up.
The competition, organised by Cheng Hao's start-up Booster Robotics, saw the victory of the THU Robotics team from Tsinghua University, which beat the Mountain Sea team from China Agricultural University 5-3 in the final. The teams were distinguished by their ability to customise the robots' movements and reactions with their own algorithms, demonstrating how football can become a unique testing ground for bipedal robotics challenges. Cheng emphasised that 'sports offer a dynamic and unpredictable scenario, which is ideal for improving robots' agility, co-ordination and ability to make quick decisions'.
But the stakes go far beyond entertainment: according to a recent report by ABI Research, the market for humanoid robots could exceed $17 billion by 2027, driven by growing demand in sectors such as logistics, entertainment, healthcare and security. Moreover, the RoboCup Federation - the international competition that has been organising real World Cup football matches between robots since 1997 - has set itself an ambitious goal: to field a team of humanoid robots capable of challenging and beating the human world champions by 2050.
According to experts interviewed by the South China Morning Post, robot football could become a tool to stimulate young people's interest in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and get them used to interacting safely with complex autonomous systems.But a human-robot 'derby' on equal terms will have to wait a bit longer: as the tournament pictures show, robots are currently more prone to clumsy 'dives' than to shots worthy of a professional striker.
