B-Human triumphs at RoboCup German Open: 73 goals, no goals conceded!

B-Human triumphs at RoboCup German Open: 73 goals, no goals conceded!

The RoboCup German Open took place in Nuremberg from March 12th to 16th, 2025, an important event for the robot soccer community. Team B-Human, a joint project between the University of Bremen and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), was able to win the title in the Standard Platform League with impressive performances. The Bremen robots achieved a record of 73:0 and scored a total of 73 goals without conceding a single goal. This not only represents a sporting success, but also illustrates the advanced technology and excellent teamwork.

B-Human mastered the preliminary round with an overwhelming result of 44:0. The team also left nothing to be desired in the knockout phase, winning the quarter-finals 10-0 against R-ZWEI KICKERS from Kaiserslautern and the semi-finals 10-0 against the Italian team SPQR. In the final, the Bremen team defeated the HULKs from Hamburg 9-0 and thus secured the championship title again. “We particularly impressed with our precise passing and autonomous decision-making,” explained Dr. Thomas Röfer, project manager at B-Human.

Technological Advances and Arbitrary Interaction

The RoboCup aims to increasingly adapt the rules of the game to human football. This includes, among other things, interaction with human referees. Robots must recognize and interpret acoustic signals such as kick-offs and goal scores as well as visual gestures from referees. These developments not only serve to improve robot performance in competition, but also have applications in industry, where autonomous systems are becoming increasingly important.

B-Human has been one of the leading teams in the Standard Platform League since 2009 and has won numerous national and international titles. At the RoboCup German Open 2025, the team reached its 200th official league game and scored its 1,400th goal. The team consists of 26 students, one alumnus and two doctoral students, who work under the scientific supervision of Dr. Thomas Röfer and Dr. Tim Laue stand.

Outlook for the RoboCup World Championship 2025

In July 2025, B-Human will accept the challenge of competing in the RoboCup World Championship in Salvador, Brazil. The competition will take place from July 15th to 21st. “Our successes in the Standard Platform League motivate us to give our best on the international stage,” said Röfer. With main sponsors like CONTACT Software and additional supporters like JUST ADD AI, cellumation and Ubica Robotics, the team will continue to be at the forefront of robotics sports in the future.

B-Human not only demonstrates the potential of AI-driven robotics, but also contributes to the development of innovative technologies that can have an impact on various industries beyond robotics. With their recent triumph in Nuremberg, the team has once again proven that robot football is more than just a game; it is an exciting field for technological developments and research advances.

The combination of sport and science shows the future of robotics, with goals that go beyond sporting competition. Efforts to develop autonomous robots contribute to RoboCup's vision of creating humanoid robots that can compete against human world champions by 2050.