Humanoid robots play football in Qingdao

Visitors were captivated recently by soccer matches played by humanoids in Qingdao, Shandong province. While their movements remained a bit awkward, the robots displayed impressive target accuracy, surprising onlookers who marveled at the advancements in robotics technology.

The match was part of RoboCup Asia-Pacific (RCAP) 2024, which was held between Oct 24 and Oct 27, bringing together over 200 teams and approximately 600 participants from more than 20 countries and regions.

According to the event's organizers, most participants were students from elementary and middle schools, as well as prominent universities including Tsinghua University, Tongji University, Singapore Polytechnic, the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in Russia.

This was the first RoboCup event hosted in a world-class film studio at China Movie Metropolis in the Qingdao West Coast New Area, providing a unique and immersive experience that blended the excitement of robotics with the art of filmmaking.

Organizers said that this event aimed to not only elevate the showcase of robotics and AI research and its visual appeal, but also create new opportunities for promoting participating robots and their teams through world-class film and media promotion channels.

Qingdao West Coast New Area is home to Asia's largest film production base, capable of creating a wide range of customized settings such as household scenes, football fields and industrial environments, said Changjiu Zhou, president of RCAP Confederation.

"These settings offer a safe and controlled environment essential for robot testing," he added.

RoboCup Asia-Pacific 2024 was held in conjunction with the 2024 Global Ocean Development Forum, where participants discussed collaboration on ocean initiatives and sustainable marine development.

Zhou, who also participated in the forum, believes in the potential of integrating robotics and AI with marine applications, such as autonomous driving technology in deep-sea exploration and unmanned vessels.

"A plan for hosting an international marine robotics competition in Qingdao next year is under preparation," he said.

RoboCup is an international scientific initiative with the goal of advancing state-of-the-art intelligent robots, according to its official website.

Qingdao West Coast New Area has accelerated the growth of its robotics industry in recent years and established a provincial-level robotics industrial park to drive efficient clustering of AI and industrial internet industries and shape a leading robotics hub in China.

Following the success of this event, Qingdao West Coast New Area plans to attract AI experts and top robotics teams from around the world, strengthening international exchanges and collaboration in robotics technology, said Qi Zhenpeng, deputy director of the New Area's science and technology innovation development center.