RoboCup

Humanoid soccer robots

I had the privilege of leading THMOS, a RoboCup team from Tsinghua University. This experience not only equipped me with foundational knowledge and hands-on skills in robotics, but also played a central role in shaping my long-term path.

Left: Custom-designed KidSize humanoid robots competing in a RoboCup soccer match. Right: Walking and dynamic kicking enabled by model predictive control and whole-body control. Code for deployment on the Fourier GR-1 robot is available here.

Although THMOS had once been a strong competitor, the team went through a period of decline due to insufficient knowledge transfer between senior and junior members. By the time I stepped into the role of team leader, nearly all experienced members had graduated. With guidance from the previous leader, we began rebuilding the team from the ground up—recruiting new members and offering structured lectures on key robotics topics such as kinematics, computer vision, reinforcement learning, SLAM, and more. During the development of our custom-designed KidSize humanoid robot, I gained hands-on experience across the full robotics stack—from hardware design and embedded programming to perception and control algorithms. This period was one of intense learning, problem-solving, and growth.

Early explorations in hardware and software

Today, THMOS has re-emerged as a strong and competitive team on the global stage and continues to achieve increasingly impressive results. Check out the latest updates from the Humanoid League.