What it measures
Autonomous perception, locomotion, kicking and team coordination in soccer games, plus technical challenges for specific robot skills.
CompetitionRecurringHigh relevance
RoboCup Humanoid League
RoboCup Humanoid League (Humanoid Soccer League from 2026)
The RoboCup Humanoid League runs autonomous humanoid robot soccer as part of the annual RoboCup championship. Teams field their own humanoid platforms, and matches are played without human intervention. Historically the league was organized into KidSize and AdultSize classes. For 2026 it was reorganized as the Humanoid Soccer League, formed by merging the Humanoid League and the Standard Platform League, with Small, Middle and Large divisions.
- First published
- 2002
- Organizers
- RoboCup Federation
- Tasks
- —
- Simulator
- —
- License
- —
How it works
Teams play a tournament with knockout rounds (the official results page includes a third-place match) within each division. Awards cover the championship, technical challenges, drop-in games, best humanoid, best software and the research challenge. Official results pages list podiums; scores are not always published with the rankings.
Why it matters
It provides an annual public test of autonomous humanoid locomotion and perception in a standardized game setting, and its results are documented by the organizers.
Scoring
Metrics
| Metric | Key | Unit | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final placing | final_place | Unitless | Lower is better ↓ |
| Goals scored in podium-deciding match | goals_for | goals | Higher is better ↑ |
| Goals conceded in podium-deciding match | goals_against | goals | Lower is better ↓ |
Hardware
Robots involved
The 2025 AdultSize finalists and the 2026 Large podium used Booster T1 robots. The 2025 KidSize champion and the 2026 Middle podium used Booster K1 robots. The 2026 Small podium used Booster K1 Air (Invic and GeoHBots) and High Torque Mini Pi plus (Hamburg Bit-Bots); those variants are not in the roster.
Timeline
Editions and next edition
2025
Jul 15, 2025 · Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
RoboCup 2025 ran 15–21 July; Humanoid League championship matches were held on 20 July. The collected results cover the KidSize and AdultSize podiums.
2026
Jun 30, 2026 · Incheon, South Korea
First Humanoid Soccer League world championship, held 30 June–6 July at RoboCup 2026. Divisions: Small, Middle and Large; championship matches were held on 5 July.
Next: 2027
Jun 17, 2027 · Nuremberg Exhibition Center, Nuremberg, Germany
Public competition days are 17–20 June 2027, with finals on 20 June; the RoboCup Symposium follows on 21 June.
Recorded outcomes
Results
AdultSize league (final ranking)
Edition 2025-adultsize · Jul 20, 2025
Ranking only: the official results page gives no textual final score. It does not name a third-place AdultSize team, so none is listed. Both finalists' official team specifications identify Booster T1 hardware. Best Humanoid award: Tsinghua Hephaestus (1st), Boosted HTWK (2nd). The championship matches were held on 20 July 2025 in Salvador, Brazil.
| Rank | Robot / policy | Team | Final placing | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booster T1 | Tsinghua Hephaestus | 1 | Official 1st place. Also Best Humanoid and AdultSize Technical Challenge winner. | [1][2] |
| 2 | Booster T1 | CAU Mountain&Sea | 2 | Official 2nd place. Also winner of the AdultSize drop-in challenge. | [1][3] |
- [1]Schedule and Results RC-HL 2025 ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid League
- [2]Tsinghua Hephaestus 2025 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid League
- [3]CAU Mountain&Sea 2025 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid League
KidSize league (final ranking)
Edition 2025-kidsize · Jul 20, 2025
Ranking only: the official results page gives no textual final score. Boosted HTWK and THMOS used Booster K1 robots in the final; THMOS's pre-event specification instead described its custom THMOS platform, indicating a platform change before competition. NUbots used the custom NUgus platform, which is not in the roster. Other KidSize awards: Technical Challenge 1st Rhoban, 2nd WF Wolves, 3rd NUbots; Software Challenge Rhoban. The championship matches were held on 20 July 2025 in Salvador, Brazil.
| Rank | Robot / policy | Team | Final placing | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booster K1 | Boosted HTWK | 1 | Official 1st place. Also winner of the KidSize drop-in challenge. | [1][2] |
| 2 | Booster K1 | THMOS | 2 | Official 2nd place. The pre-event specification listed THMOS's custom platform, but Booster Robotics and the champion's event diary identify the robot actually used in the final as Booster K1. Best Referee award went to Eng Zhi Qiang (THMOS). | [1][3][5][6] |
| 3 | NUgus | NUbots | 3 | Official 3rd place. | [1][4] |
- [1]Schedule and Results RC-HL 2025 ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid League
- [2]Boosted HTWK 2025 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid League
- [3]THMOS 2025 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid League
- [4]NUbots 2025 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid League
- [5]Booster Robotics company history ↗ · Booster Robotics
- [6]HTWK Robots 2025 event diary ↗ · HTWK Robots
Large division (final ranking, Humanoid Soccer League)
Edition 2026-large · Jul 5, 2026
Podium ranks and final-day match scores are from the official results page. Booster Robotics' post-event release and the teams' official specification papers identify Booster T1 as the platform used by all three podium teams. The world championship ran from 30 June to 6 July in Incheon, South Korea; podium-deciding matches were played on 5 July. League-wide awards included Best Customized Humanoid for HERoEHS (ALICE 4th version) and Best Humanoid Software for B-Human.
| Rank | Robot / policy | Team | Goals scored in podium-deciding match (goals) | Goals conceded in podium-deciding match (goals) | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booster T1 | Tsinghua Hephaestus (Tsinghua University) | 6 goals | 2 goals | Defeated CAU Mountain&Sea 6–2 in the final. | [1][3][4] |
| 2 | Booster T1 | CAU Mountain&Sea (China Agricultural University) | 2 goals | 6 goals | Lost 2–6 to Tsinghua Hephaestus in the final. | [1][3][5] |
| 3 | Booster T1 | Water (Beijing Information Science & Technology University) | 2 goals | 1 goals | Defeated UT AustinVilla 2–1 in the third-place match. | [1][3][6] |
- [1]Results 2026 (Humanoid Soccer League) ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [2]Humanoid Soccer League (HSL) ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [3]Booster Robotics humanoid robots claim all championship titles at RoboCup 2026 ↗ · Booster Robotics
- [4]Tsinghua Hephaestus 2026 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [5]CAU Mountain&Sea 2026 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [6]Water 2026 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
Middle division (final ranking, Humanoid Soccer League)
Edition 2026-middle · Jul 5, 2026
Podium ranks and final-day match scores are from the official results page. Booster Robotics' post-event release and the teams' official specification papers identify Booster K1 as the platform used by all three podium teams. The world championship ran from 30 June to 6 July in Incheon, South Korea; podium-deciding matches were played on 5 July.
| Rank | Robot / policy | Team | Goals scored in podium-deciding match (goals) | Goals conceded in podium-deciding match (goals) | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booster K1 | B-Human (Universität Bremen and DFKI) | 6 goals | 0 goals | Defeated HTWK Robots 6–0 in the final. Also won the Best Humanoid Software award. | [1][3][4] |
| 2 | Booster K1 | HTWK Robots (Leipzig University of Applied Sciences) | 0 goals | 6 goals | Lost 0–6 to B-Human in the final. | [1][3][5] |
| 3 | Booster K1 | Rhoban (University of Bordeaux) | 9 goals | 2 goals | Defeated whIRLwind Amsterdam 9–2 in the third-place match. | [1][3][6] |
- [1]Results 2026 (Humanoid Soccer League) ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [2]Humanoid Soccer League (HSL) ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [3]Booster Robotics humanoid robots claim all championship titles at RoboCup 2026 ↗ · Booster Robotics
- [4]B-Human 2026 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [5]HTWK Robots 2026 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [6]Rhoban 2026 team specifications ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
Small division (final ranking, Humanoid Soccer League)
Edition 2026-small · Jul 5, 2026
Podium ranks and final-day match scores are from the official results page. The 2026 world championship ran from 30 June to 6 July in Incheon, South Korea; podium-deciding matches were played on 5 July. The 2026 format replaced KidSize and AdultSize with Small, Middle and Large divisions. Invic and GeoHBots' qualification documents showed different pre-event platforms, so the post-event Booster Robotics identification of the robots actually used takes precedence.
| Rank | Robot / policy | Team | Goals scored in podium-deciding match (goals) | Goals conceded in podium-deciding match (goals) | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booster K1 Air | Invic (Wuhan University) | 6 goals | 3 goals | Defeated Hamburg Bit-Bots 6–3 in the final. Booster Robotics identifies the competition platform as K1 Air, which is not in the roster. | [1][3] |
| 2 | High Torque Mini Pi plus | Hamburg Bit-Bots (Universität Hamburg) | 3 goals | 6 goals | Lost 3–6 to Invic in the final. Hamburg Bit-Bots identifies its new competition platform as the High Torque Mini Pi plus, which is not in the roster. | [1][4][5] |
| 3 | Booster K1 Air | GeoHBots (China University of Geosciences) | 6 goals | 5 goals | Defeated CAU Mountain&Sea 6–5 in the third-place match. Booster Robotics identifies the competition platform as K1 Air, which is not in the roster. | [1][3] |
- [1]Results 2026 (Humanoid Soccer League) ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [2]Humanoid Soccer League (HSL) ↗ · RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League
- [3]Booster Robotics humanoid robots claim all championship titles at RoboCup 2026 ↗ · Booster Robotics
- [4]Hamburg Bit-Bots: World Vice Champions 2026 ↗ · Hamburg Bit-Bots
- [5]Mini Pi humanoid robot ↗ · High Torque Robotics
Evidence
Sources
- [1]Schedule and Results RC-HL 2025 ↗RoboCup Humanoid League · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [2]Results 2026 (Humanoid Soccer League) ↗RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [3]Humanoid Soccer League (HSL) ↗RoboCup Humanoid Soccer League · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [4]RoboCup Humanoid League history ↗RoboCup Humanoid League · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [5]Booster Robotics humanoid robots claim all championship titles at RoboCup 2026 ↗Booster Robotics · accessed Oct 8, 2026
- [6]RoboCup 2027 visitor information ↗RoboCup 2027 · accessed Oct 8, 2026
Quick answers
RoboCup Humanoid League FAQ
Who won AdultSize league (final ranking) at the 2025-adultsize RoboCup Humanoid League?
Booster T1 placed first in the structured result record.
Who won KidSize league (final ranking) at the 2025-kidsize RoboCup Humanoid League?
Booster K1 placed first in the structured result record.
Who won Large division (final ranking, Humanoid Soccer League) at the 2026-large RoboCup Humanoid League?
Booster T1 placed first in the structured result record.
Who won Middle division (final ranking, Humanoid Soccer League) at the 2026-middle RoboCup Humanoid League?
Booster K1 placed first in the structured result record.
When is the next RoboCup Humanoid League?
2027 is listed for Jun 17, 2027 in Nuremberg Exhibition Center, Nuremberg, Germany.
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