Beijing, China (Enmaeya News) — Beijing recently hosted its first robot football match, drawing attention on social media as a major step in artificial intelligence (AI) development.
The 3-on-3 autonomous robot game, held Sunday, featured Booster T1 robots developed by Booster Robotics. The match was part of the ROBO League football tournament and a preview for the upcoming 2025 World Humanoid Games.
The game was far from perfect. The AI-powered robots struggled to stay upright, control the ball, and shoot accurately. Some had to be carried off the field after falling, and engineers were seen helping robots stand. In one moment, two robots even stepped on their fallen teammate.
Booster Robotics founder Cheng Hao told Global Times the robots “currently have skills of a five-year-old child,” but said their abilities will grow “exponentially” and could one day compete against human teams.
Four teams of engineers competed in the championship, where they programmed robots to pass, shoot the ball, and survive falls.
“We chose the football scenario for robot competition primarily for two reasons,” Cheng said. “First, to encourage students to apply their algorithmic skills to real-world robotics; second, to showcase the robots’ ability to walk autonomously and stably, withstand collisions, and demonstrate higher levels of intelligence and safety.”
Watch the full match here: China’s first AI robot football match
