RoboCup 2026 in South Korea showcases future of AI

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.