Humanoid robots stumbled, collided and recovered as they battled for the RoboCup 2026 football title on Sunday (5 July), showcasing the latest advances in robotics and artificial intelligence at the world's largest competition of its kind.
Held in Incheon, RoboCup 2026 brought together more than 3,000 competitors from 45 countries, with teams testing autonomous robots in football and disaster-response challenges.
Team Hephaestus from Tsinghua University defeated Team Mountain and Sea from China Agricultural University in the final, as the robots repeatedly lost their balance, collided with opponents and quickly returned to their feet to continue playing.
"Our team's ultimate goal is to be the FIFA champion in 2050," said Team Hephaestus leader Changsheng Luo.
Organisers said more than 70% of participating teams relied on humanoid platforms developed by Booster Robotics.
The company's global team head, Chaoyi Li, said the technology was being adopted worldwide.
"We can see the German teams, the Korean teams, the U.S. teams, everyone around the world is actually using Booster," Li said.
"It's not just about the Chinese team."
Away from the football pitch, teams also competed in search-and-rescue events designed to simulate disaster zones, with robots navigating complex environments and completing emergency-response tasks.
The additional challenges are intended to advance robotics beyond sport by developing technologies that could one day assist in real-world rescue and disaster relief operations.
Azerbaijan exported $23.45 million worth of goods to Armenia between January and September 2026, according to data released by the State Customs Co...
More than 200 U.S. business leaders have joined Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Uzbekistan as Washington steps up efforts to turn closer diplomat...
An oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’...
What started out as planned protests against the cost of living, declining public services and education funding in France, quickly devolved into violent riots across the country on Saturday.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
The AnewZ documentary “Counterpoint: Two Centuries of German-Azerbaijani Shared History” investigates the story of German settlers who arrived on Azerbaijani lands around two centuries ago and established communities that left a lasting mark on the country’s cultural heritage.
Satellite restrictions affecting Ukraine's military have put SpaceX's Starshield network under scrutiny, raising questions about who controls the technology and who can restrict its use during wartime.
More than three centuries after the dodo disappeared from Mauritius, efforts to bring the iconic bird back from extinction are taking a new step forward.
Hackers forced the temperature of fridges and freezers in hundreds of French supermarkets up to 50 degrees Celsius overnight, causing fires and food losses in what the Paris Prosecutor’s Office described as a “large-scale” attack.
A software engineer employed by OpenAI has been arrested and charged by U.S. authorities after investigators alleged he secretly placed a concealed recording device inside an executive conference room at the artificial intelligence company.
NASA's Perseverance rover has set a new driving record on Mars, travelling 45.2 kilometres since landing in 2021 and surpassing every other robotic vehicle to explore a world beyond Earth, the U.S. space agency said on Tuesday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment