ISLAMABAD: As the men’s football team of China has failed to attract people in recent years, a team of humanoid robots in Beijing has succeeded in attracting fans, not by their skills on the football field, but by the amazing ability to show artificial intelligence technology.
Four teams of humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence participated in fully autonomous 3-a-side football matches on Saturday night in the capital in what was termed as a first-of-its-kind event in China. The games were a taster of the forthcoming World Humanoid Robot Games, which will be hosted in Beijing.
As organisers put it, the most important aspect of the matches was that all robots were playing completely autonomously, without any human intervention or control, following AI-based strategies.
Superior visual sensors
The robots were equipped with superior visual sensors that enabled them to detect the ball and manoeuvre around the pitch. They were also programmed to rise on their own after falling, though a couple of them still had to be carried off the field on stretchers, which added a rather realistic touch to the proceedings.
China is also fast developing AI-based humanoid robots, and sporting events like football, boxing, and marathons are becoming the real-life testbeds to test the AI-based humanoid robots.
Cheng Hao, founder and CEO of Booster Robotics, the company that developed the robotic players, clarified that competitive sport is a perfect place to test the algorithms and the synergy between the hardware and software systems.
He also emphasised the safety aspect in the case of the deployment of humanoid robots.
Robots playing football with humans
We may witness robots playing football with human beings in the future. To do that, we have to make sure that they are safe,” Cheng added. As an example, we can organise a game between a robot and a human being where the outcome is not important, but actual attacking and defending occur. This would make people more comfortable and realise that they can trust robots.”
All four university teams were supplied with the physical robots by Booster Robotics, but each university research team was left to devise its own algorithms to determine perception, tactics, player positioning, and passing, considering such variables as speed, direction, and force.
The winning robotic team
Tsinghua University THU Robotics won the championship by defeating the Mountain Sea team of China Agricultural University 5-3 in the final.
Tsinghua fan Mr Wu was happy that they won, but also commended the competition itself.
THU had done magnificently, he said. However, the Mountain Sea team was also great; they truly brought some surprises.
In contrast, China’s national men’s team, who have only ever qualified for one World Cup, have already been knocked out of next year’s tournament, set to be held across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
