The ‘World Cup’ of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, which promotes the development of robots capable of operating in various scenarios, including football matches, rescue operations and service robotics, began on Thursday in Salvador, Brazil.
The football element of the event, tagged RoboCup 2025, aims to develop a team that could beat the human FIFA World Cup champions by 2050.
Images show humanoid robots competing in a football match. The robots can react, plan, and act in real time without remote control, interacting with each other throughout the game.
“They are autonomous robots, we program them to play on their own, we don’t control anything,” said participant Lucas Cavalcante.
“The game is very dynamic, 11 versus 11, high-speed robots that can kick hard.”
Autonomous robots will compete across five leagues, featuring both humanoid designs and wheel-based models.
The gathering, taking place from 15 to 21 July, will bring together researchers, students, enthusiasts and companies from around the world to compete and learn about the latest technological advances in robotics and artificial intelligence.
RoboCup is the largest robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) competition in the world, active since 1997. It is estimated that around 2,000 participants from 40 countries will compete in various contests.
