Humanoids compete in global robot game

For the first time, more than 500 humanoid robots from five continents competed in their own global games.

Under the slogan "Racing Toward a Shared Intelligent Future", the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games (WHRG), held from Aug 14 to 17 in Beijing, brought together around 280 teams from 16 countries to compete in 26 events.

According to the official WHRG website, the four-day games drew moderate inspiration from human sports competitions, including track and field events and gymnastics, to showcase the latest advancements in robot technology.

Each running, jumping, and competing humanoid robot represented a vivid display of human ingenuity and technological skill.

Beyond human-inspired competitions, the games also featured practical, skills-based challenges such as moving materials, sorting medicines, and cleaning in varied scenarios, demonstrating robots' real-world applications.

The games proved popular on social media, with the official hashtag garnering 150 million views on Sina Weibo.

One of the most anticipated events was the 5v5 humanoid robot soccer match, entirely controlled by AI algorithms without any human intervention.

In the thrilling final on Aug 17, Tsinghua University's Hephaestus defeated a team from Germany 1-0 to claim the gold medal.

"When our robots play autonomously on the field, they rely on an integrated system that includes perception, decision-making, and motion control," said Chen Penghui, leader of Tsinghua Hephaestus.

Chen explained that perception involves using the cameras of the robots to gather visual information. Based on this feedback, the robots decide on actions, automatically chase the ball, and perform defensive maneuvers like blocking — all without human input.

Human expertise, however, still plays a crucial role.

For Lin Bin, leader of a team from North China Electric Power University, timeouts are more than just breaks — they are strategic tools to turn the tide at critical moments.

"We tailor our tactics to the specific strengths and weaknesses of each opponent and make adjustments during timeouts," he said.

Unlike human soccer, the roles of robots on the pitch can be easily changed. "Currently, our robots are assigned specific roles — forwards, defenders, and a goalkeeper," Chen said. "But we can always take a robot off the field and change its role to adapt our tactics."

On Tsinghua Hephaestus' five-robot squad, the two defenders mainly stay in their half of the field, while the two forwards push forward whenever the ball crosses midfield and a scoring opportunity arises.

"Our robots sometimes enter a 'power kick' mode," Chen said. "In this mode, they can kick the ball over long distances toward the opponent's goal with remarkable force."

Chen also noted that robots can sometimes outperform humans in certain actions thanks to the power generated by their joints, enabling moves like a "kip-up" to quickly spring back to their feet.

While teams push for innovation, they also face technical challenges.

"For me, the biggest challenge in robot soccer right now is communication," said Li Yiwen, leader of a team from Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

He explained that robots occasionally behave unexpectedly due to programming errors — but these can often be corrected through human intervention.

Next steps for robots

Chen emphasized that participating in international events like the WHRG and the RoboCup Humanoid League offers valuable opportunities to learn from peers worldwide.

Having placed top in the RoboCup Humanoid League soccer world championship in Brazil last month, Chen and his teammates were impressed by the decision-making and physical abilities of other teams' robots.

"In repeated encounters, both sides continuously improve their algorithms," Chen said. "Our robots now demonstrate stronger abilities than before when opportunities appear on the field."

Next, Chen and his team plan to focus on developing more advanced skills, like having robots accurately pass the ball to one another. "We might also consider participating in running competitions, as these are closely related to our soccer scenarios," he said.

During the games, Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics dominated the track and field events, including winning the gold medal in the 1,500-meter race.

The award-winning Unitree H1 robot is the same model that performed at the 2025 Chinese Spring Festival Gala.

Gao Yuan, an engineer with Unitree Robotics, explained that they usually test robots indoors using computers and other equipment. For the games, however, they accompanied the robots during running tests early in the morning and late at night — when temperatures were cooler — to better simulate real-world conditions.

Their hard work paid off. The team also claimed gold in the 4X100-meter relay, which Gao saw as a strong response to skeptics questioning the practical value of robotics.

"We are not just competing for medals. We want to showcase the elegance of robots through these mass-produced models," Gao said after the final. "More importantly, we want to show how the industry can develop in a healthy, sustainable way."

He also hoped that the public would appreciate the dedication and passion of all teams and robots, rather than cheering solely for the winners.

"Everyone is working hard to make the industry better, and I firmly believe that robots will become even more valuable in the future," Gao concluded.

wangxingwei@i21st.cn