Robot football qualifier warms up for upcoming 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games

Beijing kicked off a qualifying round of humanoid robot soccer matches on Tuesday ahead of the second World Humanoid Robot Games, which open in the Chinese capital on Aug. 22.

A total of 75 teams registered for the football qualifiers. The matches were held at the training base of the National Speed Skating Oval, with five robots from each side participating in two 30-minute halves. During the matches, the robots operated completely autonomously, requiring no human remote control, relying on their visual perception systems to perform actions such as dribbling and shooting.

During the games, collisions and falls occur frequently among the robots, which may lead to hardware damage. A robot repair station is set up next to the field, with professional personnel providing repair services, along with joints, arms, and other parts for replacement. "We set up a public robot pool. This is because our organizing committee requires all teams to have at least two to three robots of their own; any additional robots will be provided according to the competition category," said Wang Yuchan, a staff member of the competition department of the event's organizing committee.

Jointly hosted by Beijing municipal government and China Media Group (CMG), the World Humanoid Robot Games mark the world's first multi-sport competition for humanoid robots. A total of 280 teams from 16 countries competed in the first session of the event in 2025 with more than 500 robots.

This year's event also includes 100-meter and 400-meter obstacle courses, with 80 teams participating. The robots need to complete a series of tasks within a specified time, including navigating cones, navigating symmetrical ramps, and navigating S-shaped bridges. The participating teams are currently undergoing intensive pre-competition training.

"For humanoid robots, competing at a sports event in a scenario like an obstacle course can facilitate future tasks such as mountain patrols or inspections," said Dai Boyang, leader of a participating team.

Robot football qualifier warms up for upcoming 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games

Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Thursday that no commercial vessel or oil tanker has been, or will be, able to cross the Strait of Hormuz safely without the Iranian armed forces' permission and supervision.

In a video message carried by Iranian media, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the headquarters' spokesman, said that, as in the past, the Strait of Hormuz is under Iran's full control and management, dismissing the United States' claims about vessels' normal passage through the Strait of Hormuz as "false and nothing but lies."

He added the U.S. "false" claims are indicative of its army's "desperation and helplessness," stressing that the U.S. leaders and army have well tested the Iranian armed forces' "power and resistance."

Zolfaghari stressed that Iran's armed forces are monitoring all movements by the United States and Israel in the region and will not hesitate to defend the Iranian people's rights as well as the country's national sovereignty and aspirations and will respond to any threat.

His remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on social media that the United States maintains "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz on Feb 28, barring safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.

Iran allows no vessels to cross Hormuz without its permission