The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Business Agency (SBA, CEO Kim Hyunwoo) announced that they will host a humanoid robot sports competition as one of the main programs of the Seoul AI Robot Show 2025, which will be held at COEX from September 30 to October 2. This competition is co-organized with the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA) and is recognized as a prestigious global robot sports event.
This year’s competition will feature a total of 22 teams and 81 participants from both Korea and abroad. The participating teams come from diverse backgrounds, including university research labs, robotics startups, and youth creative clubs, and will compete with humanoid robots they have designed and built themselves. The robots vary in size from 60 cm to 180 cm and weigh between 20 and 50 kg. To implement actions such as running, shooting, and weightlifting, participants have leveraged AI vision, autonomous control, and joint motor technologies.
The competition will be held in four categories. The sprint event has humanoid robots racing on a 30-meter track to test speed and balance. In the archery event, robots use vision sensors to recognize targets and shoot arrows, evaluating their precision. The weightlifting event requires robots to lift barbells of a certain weight, verifying their motor control and balance. The traditional Korean game “Bisukchigi” has been adapted to test the robots’ agility and target control abilities.
This year, an exhibition match of robot e-sports soccer, integrating AI algorithms, will also be held, showcasing robots making strategic decisions in real time.
To enhance the credibility of the competition, the Seoul Business Agency will present the Seoul Mayor’s Award, the Seoul Business Agency President’s Award, the Korea Robot Sports Association President’s Award, and the FIRA President’s Award. With the participation of renowned institutions from Korea and abroad, this event is expected to further solidify its status as a leading global robot sports competition beyond Asia.
This competition is not merely a performance, but a platform for researchers and young talents to validate the technologies they have honed in the lab. As most participants are graduate students, researchers, and young developers, this experience is directly linked to nurturing the future talent who will lead the global robotics industry.
Over the past three years, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has invested 15.6 billion won in the robotics industry, actively supporting technology development and demonstration environments. This competition serves as an international showcase of these policy-driven investments and is expected to further strengthen Seoul’s presence in the global robotics industry.
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