The Robo League, the first football tournament among fully autonomous, full-size humanoid robots, was held in China.
The androids moved independently, without the help of operators, relying only on their artificial intelligence.
According to Lent.az, citing foreign media, the matches lasted two halves of 10 minutes. Robot footballers play three against three, often stumble and fall amusingly (some even had to be carried off on a stretcher), and a team of Tsinghua students won.
The robots independently moved around the field, recognizing the ball with more than 90 percent accuracy at a distance of up to 20 meters. They were also able to identify the boundaries of the field, the position of the goal, teammates, and opponents. However, the machines still have trouble avoiding obstacles.
"Just a year ago, robots could barely move during games, were constantly breaking down when they fell, and needed people to ensure safety. Now they play autonomously and can accelerate at 1 m per second," said one of the organizers of the tournament.
It is planned to hold such games regularly in China, and a larger World Humanoid Robot Games will be held in August this year.