[Paek Jongmin's Shockwave] "The Robot Scored on Its Own"... The Meaning of Korea's Soccer Robot and Its Precious First Victory

The First RoboCup 2026 in Korea: A Grand Festival of Robot Soccer

First Goal, First Victory: Korean Team Achieves Results with a Self-Made Robot Despite Lower Rankings

Chinese Robots and Teams Dominate the Competition

Korea Lags in Ro

At 3:50 p.m. on July 3, the Hanyang University and Airobot "Heroes" team kicked off their robot soccer match at Songdo Convensia in Incheon. Although it wasn't a human soccer match, the stands were filled with curious spectators eager to witness how the Korean team would fare as they challenged an unknown frontier.

Hanyang University and AeroBot team's robot Alice5, participating in RoboCup 2026, is scoring its first goal. Photo by Yunsul Eom, CEO of AeroBot, captured from Facebook.

The humanoid robot "Alice5," designed to mimic a person, appeared somewhat unstable. Its walking seemed awkward and lacking. Both spectators and researchers watched nervously, anticipating the possibility of the robot collapsing—a wheelchair stood by just in case.

Yet, the match began. The Korean robot saw the soccer ball, steadily walked over, and kicked it toward the goal. It was declared a goal—the first ever scored by a Korean robot at RoboCup.

The moment Alice5 scored its maiden goal, a cheer of “Wow!” echoed throughout the stadium. It was Yunsul Eom, CEO of Airobot. Even during pre-game practice, CEO Eom had seemed uneasy, but at this moment, an unmistakable joy crossed her face—"It’s done." The crowd roared, celebrating the goal. This was the first-ever goal scored by a Korean team in the humanoid major league at RoboCup.

◆ From stumbling on the ski slopes eight years ago, to scoring the first goal and securing the first victory = RoboCup 2026, the global robot soccer tournament, was held at Songdo Convensia, Incheon, from June 30 to July 5. Official matches ran for three days, starting July 2. The event saw the participation of 2,879 competitors, making up 364 teams from 45 countries. Teams comprised of corporate and university researchers brought their carefully AI-trained robots to compete in the event.

The core of the tournament was soccer. The objective—robots putting a soccer ball into the opposing net to win—was not so different from human soccer. Yet there were notable differences. For example, China, whose human teams struggle for success at international soccer events, dominated the tournament.

Diana, the Hanyang University - Aerobot team’s entry in the robot ski competition held during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is racing forward. Diana failed to complete the course after colliding with the fence without properly passing through the red and blue gates required by the competition rules. Photo by Paek Jongmin, Tech Specialist

I personally witnessed the Hanyang University team’s robot skiing during the robot ski competition at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Back then, with help from a national ski team veteran among its researchers, the robot aimed to finish the course but failed to do so. Eight years later, the same research team’s soccer robot scored its first goal and notched its first win. Though Alice5 and the Hanyang University·Airobot team did not make the finals—with Alice5 being just about a month old—the experience was invaluable.

The humanoid robots on site made frequent errors. While walking toward the ball, they toppled over, or fell while adjusting direction, and often froze in front of the goal. Spectators alternated between cheers and sighs. When the robots got up after falling, the audience applauded. The prevailing reactions were a mix—“this is more impressive than expected,” and, “but still not perfect.”

The Hanyang University Airobot team is inspecting the robot that participated in RoboCup 2026. At that time, there were concerns about whether the robot could walk properly and not fall, but they succeeded in scoring the first goal and securing their first win. Photo by Paek Jongmin, Tech Specialist

According to the official results of the RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League, Tsinghua University from China won first place in the adult-size category. China Agricultural University took second, and Beijing Information Science and Technology University came in third. Although the Korean team competed in this league, overcoming the dominance of the Chinese teams proved difficult.

Chinese teams used domestically-produced commercial robots from Booster Robotics. Their team members only needed to focus on developing soccer AI. In contrast, the Hanyang University·Airobot team had to both develop their robot and train its AI.

Hanyang University and Airobot team members are walking the Alice5 robot during RoboCup 2026. Alice5, which was completed in assembly last May, has significantly improved its walking performance by continuing to learn during the competition period. Photo by Yunseol Eom, CEO of Airobot, Facebook

The Chinese robots that dominated the arena were about 1.2 meters tall, roughly the height of a lower-grade elementary school child. In contrast, the Hanyang University·Airobot team's Alice5 stood at 1.7 meters.

While the Booster Robotics platform featured handles and other additions specialized for soccer, making them easier for research teams to manage, Alice5’s considerable height made it more challenging to handle. Still, the Hanyang University·Airobot team proudly competed with a robot the size of an adult man.

The Chinese teams became even stronger compared to last year. According to official results, Tsinghua University won the championship for the second consecutive year, defeating China Agricultural University 6 to 2 in the finals. Tsinghua also trounced its group stage opponents by a huge margin, and their tactics overwhelmed rival teams.

In the medium-size robot division, the German team took first place—defending its reputation as a soccer powerhouse. However, since they also used Chinese robots, it was not a completely independent victory.

From a results standpoint, the Korean team’s performance may seem disappointing: 1 win, 1 draw, and 2 losses. Alice5 finished 17th overall in the adult-size category. Nevertheless, the hard-earned first goal and first win were the fruit of the research team’s dedication and sweat. This experience revealed the gap with the world’s best—and also provided hope.

◆ Chinese robots present a formidable wall, but dancing robots and soccer robots are different = The most prominent force at this year’s event was undoubtedly the Chinese robots. According to the People’s Daily, 38 participating teams used Booster Robotics robots in the competition.

Chinese robots excelled across all categories—large, medium, and small sizes. According to an industry representative, "Chinese soccer robots are now supplied to Korea as well. Prices vary according to the AI features and overall performance, but with tens of millions of won, they can be purchased."

Before watching the games, many expected outright superiority from Chinese-made robots, but reality was more nuanced. Even with teams using the same Chinese platform, some robots moved stably toward the ball and executed human-like formation strategies, while others did not.

This variance in match performance, despite identical hardware, stemmed from the different levels of game-playing AI each team had developed.

This was notably different from videos circulating of Chinese robots performing perfectly synchronized dances and tumbling acts. It brought to mind Korea’s national soccer team in this World Cup: despite world-class players, the team failed to reach the round of 32 due to poor coaching strategies.

Teams using commercial robots from China are competing in matches at RoboCup 2026. Photo by Paek Jongmin, Tech Specialist

Ultimately, victory in humanoid soccer hinged on AI and control software. The abilities required included recognizing the ball, estimating the robot’s own location, recovering after falling, maintaining balance while walking, and determining which direction to kick.

Robots, just like people, needed to engage in physical battles—and sometimes fell over. Robots with effective AI would get back up and continue the match on their own, while others had to be dragged off by humans.

Synchronized, music-based dance routines on stage rely on reinforcement learning-based motion generation. But a soccer field is very different: there’s no set music or fixed routines.

The ball rolled unpredictably, opposing robots blocked the way, and the machines collided. Passing to a teammate, or stealing the ball from an opponent, was no easy feat. Even Chinese robots that danced flawlessly through reinforcement learning lacked perfect AI for autonomous play in matches.

◆ Korean team’s milestone with a self-made robot = Besides securing a win, the Hanyang University·Airobot team’s Alice5 achieved other significant results. During breaks, Alice5 walked around the event hall, captivating the audience. As the competition progressed, its walking and soccer abilities improved dramatically, ultimately earning the "Best Self-Developed Humanoid Robot Award."

Alice5 is 1.7 meters tall, roughly the size of an adult man. It was developed with the goal of replacing human labor in high-risk, high-intensity industrial environments. However, robots of such height face physical challenges—they are harder to balance, more difficult to control with precision, and less agile.

Lead developer Professor Jaekwon Han of Hanyang University reflected on both the disappointments and possibilities shown. “In the final match, we fought valiantly and put all robots into an all-out battle,” he recalled. “Alice5, a new version just over a month old, dramatically advanced its capabilities through real-world testing at RoboCup.” Professor Han added, “Now we are confident that Alice5 can walk well in any environment. I am very proud of our researchers for completing this robot so quickly in such a short period.”

Another highlight was CEO Eom’s receipt of the "Sylvia Coradeschi RoboCup Award," an individual special award. This award was established in honor of the late Professor Sylvia Coradeschi—the founding director and early pioneer of RoboCup—and is given to female engineers who contribute to the RoboCup community and the field of robotics. Together with her husband, Professor Han, CEO Eom stands at the forefront of Korea’s humanoid robotics industry.

CEO Eom described the first win as a “valuable victory.” She reflected that on the first day, Alice5—just one month and ten days old—could barely stand and repeatedly toppled over. “When Alice fell headfirst and broke its head, our hardware researchers worked overnight to revive the robot, while the software engineers perfected its walking,” CEO Eom recounted, emphasizing how reviving a robot in one night is extraordinarily difficult.

She further highlighted how, overcoming obstacles, Alice5 managed to stand, walk, and kick the ball unassisted the very next day. “A 1.7-meter-tall robot played a fully autonomous soccer match without a handler,” she proudly explained. “In the third game, Alice finally secured the first win with a 3-0 result—against Chinese robots that made up over 90% of the competition. It was a truly hard-won victory.”

CEO Eom stressed, “The greatest achievement at this RoboCup was completing the walking function. There’s still a long way to go before robots can truly coexist with people. I hope everyone will remember the path we are taking.”

A Chinese robot participating in RoboCup 2026 is waving to the audience. Photo by Paek Jongmin, Tech Specialist

There were clear challenges identified through this event. While Korean robots have made progress, there is still a gap, but also clear signs of catch-up being possible. Professor Hyun Myung of KAIST commented, “In robotics, there is no reason that a dramatic breakthrough—like ChatGPT or AlphaGo in AI—couldn’t happen. But for now, there remain quite a few hurdles to overcome.”

Professor Myung cited challenges, such as coordination formations during matches or collaboration with other robots. He particularly emphasized, “In terms of hardware, we have some catching up to do, but the ultimate differentiator will be AI that drives robot action.”

◆ Why we should root for falling robots = The situation for Korea’s humanoid robotics industry is difficult. Compared to the price competitiveness and supply chain of China, the established software of Germany, and the thriving AI ecosystem in the United States, there are many shortcomings. Nevertheless, seeing a robot made by Korean hands score a goal on its own is proof that Korea has not given up on this competition.

The final standings at RoboCup 2026 show China as the winner, but even Chinese robots are not perfect. For a reporter who saw a Korean robot tumbling down a ski slope in 2018, witnessing that first goal on a soccer field in Incheon in 2026 was clear progress. RoboCup aims to create human-level soccer robots by 2050. If Korean humanoid robotics accelerates its chase, that goal is still within reach.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.