On the 5th (local time), the largest consumer electronics and IT exhibition in Europe was held at the 'IFA 2025' venue in Berlin, Germany. With news that a robot soccer match was to take place, a crowd of over 200 gathered at the RoboCup booth. As the referee placed the ball in the center of a small soccer field covered with artificial turf and blew the whistle, a robot, about 100 cm tall, slowly pushed the ball toward the goal. Then, after falling backward, it performed a backflip in the blink of an eye to get back up. When it fell forward, it propped itself up with its arms and legs as if doing a push-up, regained its balance.
◇ Booster and Unitree humanoid robots in the spotlight
The robot that participated in the match on that day is a humanoid product from China's 'Booster Robotics,' which won the global intelligent robot soccer competition 'RoboCup 2025.' The RoboCup competition is based on the premise that robots act and make decisions entirely autonomously without human control. For this reason, cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision, sensor fusion, autonomous driving, and multi-agent cooperation systems are mobilized. This robot, from a startup less than two years old, has become the champion.
Booster Robotics was founded by engineers who have been researching humanoid robots for nearly 20 years in the Tsinghua University robotics laboratory. On-site, Chao Mingxu, the global manager of Booster Robotics, said, "To create robust robots, we developed our own motion control system, focusing on durability from the hardware and electrical and mechanical design stages." They opted to use an open-source core code strategy that provides their robots as a development platform.
Booster robots have sold over 500 units primarily to research and educational institutions worldwide. Chao Mingxu noted, "The core of future AI will be 'embodied AI' that interacts with the physical world," and added that "there will naturally be growing demand in the research and education market as future talents need a platform to apply and test their algorithms on actual robots." He explained, "Ultimately, our goal is to advance this technology to replace simple repetitive or hazardous labor performed by humans."
At this year's IFA, most of the notable robots had roots in China. Among the 24 corporations participating in the robotics sector, 10 were Chinese companies. The booth of 'Unitree,' which is pursuing a listing on the Nasdaq, was also crowded with visitors. Humanoid robots and high-performance quadruped robots are Unitree's specialties. Humanoid robots, standing between 120 and 180 cm tall, have improved their athletic ability to perform flips. Prices start at $16,000 (approximately 22 million won), making them in high demand in industrial sites and research fields compared to conventional industrial robots.
◇ Infinite cleaning and stair climbing have become possible... The world's first competition among Chinese robots
In the robotic vacuum cleaner field, Chinese corporations are breaking conventions with groundbreaking technologies and competing for the title of 'world's first.' Chinese company Roborock unveiled a product that integrates a washing machine, dryer, and robotic vacuum into a single tower-type appliance, the first in the industry. This method involves incorporating the robotic vacuum inside the washing dryer to manage washing, drying, dust suction, and mopping all with a single device. A Roborock representative stated, "The washing machine's water supply system is shared with the robotic vacuum, maximizing convenience and space utilization," adding, "We plan to launch it in Europe first and then in China and Korea before the end of this year."
A company that solved the chronic problem of robot vacuums halting due to low battery has emerged. Chinese company Ecovacs showcased a technology that allows the robotic vacuum to charge while briefly stopping at the station for mopping using GaN (gallium nitride) fast charging technology within about three minutes. An Ecovacs representative stated, "When the mop is sucking water, vibrations occur throughout the device, making charging difficult. We reversed our thinking and developed new technology," mentioning that "the robot vacuum demonstrated cleaning continuously for almost 10 hours the previous day." This technology has made 'infinite cleaning' effectively possible.
Chinese company Mobo has improved to enable 'stair climbing,' which was considered a physical limitation for robotic vacuums. They adopted a strategy of combining existing round robotic vacuums with a square module equipped with long legs. On flat surfaces, the robotic vacuum operates independently, but upon encountering stairs, the module lifts the main body to ascend or descend stairs with a maximum height of 25 cm at once. Liang Chen, Mobo's engineering chief, noted, "We developed the module to address the inconveniences faced by consumers in residences with many multi-story structures in Europe," and predicted, "There is likely to be high demand as the module can be purchased separately to connect with the robotic vacuum."