China’s first fully autonomous 3v3 AI robot football match ends

China

China’s first fully autonomous 3v3 AI robot football match ends

2025-06-29 13:56 Last Updated At：06-30 00:57

The final of the ROBO League robot football tournament concluded on Saturday in Beijing, with Tsinghua University's Power Intelligent Team beating the Mountain-Sea Team from China Agricultural University 5:3 to win the championship.

This event served as the first test match for the upcoming 2025 World Humanoid Robot Sports Games and marked China's first-ever fully autonomous 3v3 AI robot football competition.

The ROBO League football showdown was a remarkable display of advanced robotic technology. Unlike traditional remote-controlled competitions, these humanoid players relied solely on AI-driven strategies. They showcased real-time decision-making, coordinated teamwork and even the ability to self-recover after falling. The optimized penalty system minimized interruptions, allowing the 1.2-to-1.5-meter-tall robots to execute fluid movements and well-orchestrated attacks, mimicking human football tactics.

"This competition is not only a domestic first, but also a window to bring robots closer to the general public and real-life scenarios. We hope this new format can foster cross-disciplinary exchange and inspire more technological innovation and enthusiasm," said Dou Jing, executive director of the tournament organizing committee.

The robotic football event builds on the momentum of April's historic half-marathon. In that event, 20 humanoid robot teams completed a 21.0975-kilometer course in Beijing's Daxing District. This was a world first, revealing significant progress in robotic endurance and environmental adaptation.

The stage is set for the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Sports Games, scheduled from August 15 to 17 in Beijing, which will be the first global sporting event dedicated solely to humanoid robots.

Iran says peace talks with U.S. not close to agreement

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that peace negotiations between Iran and the United States are not close to an agreement.

"The ongoing diplomatic process and the senior Pakistani officials' presence in Tehran do not mean that we have reached a turning point or determining situation," Baghaei told state-run IRIB TV, as Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi are in Iran's capital for bilateral message exchanges.

"We cannot say to have reached a point where an agreement is close; not necessarily, that is not the case," he said, noting that differences between Iran and the United States are such "deep and numerous," and that diplomacy takes time.

Baghaei emphasized that talks aim to end hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, adding that Iran's nuclear program is not on the agenda at this stage.

The situation of the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. attacks on Iran-linked ships must also be reviewed and discussed, he said.

Baghaei has been formally appointed as the spokesman for the Iranian delegation in talks with the United States, the IRIB reported on Friday.

In a decree issued on Friday, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who leads the negotiating team with the United States, named Baghaei as the spokesman for the "Minab 168" delegation.

Iran, the United States and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting that started with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.

Following the truce, Iranian and U.S. delegations held one round of peace talks in Pakistan's Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.

Over the past weeks, the two sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistani mediation.