2025 Inaugural Technical Exchange Competition, Jinan

Breaking New Ground: A Historic Weekend for Humanoid Robotics in Jinan

In December 2025, the city of Jinan transformed into a global hub for innovation, hosting the 2025 Humanoid Robot Football Technology Experience Camp and Technical Exchange Competition. Held at the Shandong Institute of Commerce and Technology, this landmark event marked a turning point in the integration of humanoid hardware and artificial intelligence.

The event was organized under the guidance of the Jinan Municipal Sports Bureau, and the Jinan Association for Science and Technology, specifically aiming to implement the "Robot+" initiative and national guidelines on humanoid robot development.

A Monumental Opening: The Birth of a New League

The event officially kicked off with an opening ceremony on December 20, 2025. The morning was headlined by several key milestones:

• The Unveiling: In a historic moment for the sport, the Humanoid Robot Football League was officially established and unveiled.

• Expert Insights: Government officers and university professors delivered keynote speeches detailing the future of humanoid robots and embodied intelligence development.

• Global Recognition: The league formally recognized international partners, including representatives from Malaysia and Egypt, as affiliate members.

From Theory to Turf: The Technology Experience Camp

Before the competition began, participants underwent two days of intensive technical immersion:

• Day 1 (Theoretical): Students and researchers engaged in deep-dive sessions covering humanoid architecture, including degrees of freedom (DoF), sensor layouts like 9-axis IMUs, and the ROS2 communication model.

• Day 2 (Practical): This session moved to hands-on training, where teams practiced robot operation, ball recognition algorithms, and motion strategies using official software toolkits.

The Inaugural Technical Exchange Match

The climax of the event took place on December 22, as 10 invited teams from domestic and international secondary schools, vocational colleges, and universities faced off in a series of soccer technology exchange matches. 

These matches were governed by strict autonomous standards:

• Total Autonomy: Robots were required to act entirely on their own—no remote control, external power, or "remote brains" were permitted.

• Standard Pitch: Matches were played on a 16x12m artificial turf field, utilizing standard 5-size soccer balls.

• Technical Goals: Teams demonstrated their ability to program robots for precise soccer ball identification, path planning, and multi-machine coordination.

Looking to the Future

The competition concluded with an experience-sharing session where teams discussed technical hurdles and algorithmic breakthroughs. This inaugural event was more than just a match; it was the first step toward the league's visionary mid-century goal: a fully autonomous humanoid team defeating human World Cup champions under official FIFA rules.

By bridging the gap between academic R&D and industrial application, Jinan has officially laid the groundwork for the future of autonomous sports.