Robots on July 3 play a soccer game at this year's RoboCup held at the convention center Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Yeonsu-gu District.

By Margareth Theresia

Photos = Park Daejin

RoboCup, the world's largest artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics competition, on July 2 kicked off at the convention center Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Yeonsu-gu District.

Launched in 1997, the annual event is the world's largest research platform for AI and robotics under the goal of forming a fully autonomous robotics soccer team capable of beating the human championship squad of the FIFA World Cup by 2050.

This is the first time for the country to host RoboCup's main competition.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said about 3,000 robots from 45 countries will compete in the event's 29th edition through July 5.

Robot soccer is RoboCup's highlight but the event also covers robotic technologies for solving real-world problems like disaster rescue, home services and manufacturing processes.

The contest's 10 leagues cover five categories: robot soccer, disaster rescue, home services, industrial automation and youth competition. Korea this year has 10 teams in four categories -- soccer, home services, manufacturing and disaster rescue.

A can't-miss event is the inaugural Humanoid Robot Challenge. Twelve teams from domestic universities will compete to demonstrate the task-performing capabilities of humanoid robots in manufacturing and logistics environments.

They will perform tasks that mirror those in real-world industrial settings such as sorting and transporting parts, sequential assembly, and wheel mounting and fastening to show the industrial application potential of humanoid robots.

A product exhibition hall displays about 40 domestic and international robot makers and component companies. A global symposium on robotic technology will also share the latest trends and research in the industry.

Admission is free through preregistration on the event's official website (https://2026.robocup.org), which also contains a detailed schedule of RoboCup, or registering at the venue.

A robot on July 3 moves a box in the RoboCup Humanoid Challenge at the convention center Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Yeonsu-gu District.