Proving the Global Status of South Korea's Robot Technology

The robot team 'Tidyboy,' composed of students from Pusan National University, has won the world's largest artificial intelligence (AI) robot competition, showcasing the excellence of South Korean robot technology to the world.

On the 24th, Pusan National University announced that 'Tidyboy,' the only participating team from South Korea, achieved the highest score ever recorded in the home service category at the international AI robot competition 'RoboCup 2025,' held in Salvador, Brazil.

RoboCup, founded in 1996, is the oldest and largest robot competition in the world. This year's event saw 1,500 competitors from 37 countries engage in fierce contests across various fields, including robot soccer, home service, industrial automation, and disaster relief.

The Tidyboy team consists of students from the lab of Professor Lee Seung-jun, an AI expert affiliated with the government-led K-Humanoid Alliance and a member of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Pusan National University.

The robot they developed, 'Anubis,' achieved an astonishing feat by recording the highest score in the competition and securing the overall first place in the home service category.

The home service category, in which the Tidyboy team competed, involved competition among home robots, assessing their ability to accurately recognize surrounding objects and environments and communicate seamlessly with humans. Notably, the ability to autonomously navigate indoor spaces and manipulate objects using robotic arms was a crucial evaluation factor.

Utilizing their self-developed humanoid robot 'Anubis,' they flawlessly executed eight assigned tasks during the competition, showcasing outstanding object recognition ability, rapid autonomous driving technology, precise dual-arm manipulation, and natural communication skills with humans, thus setting a new record for the highest score ever achieved.

What is particularly noteworthy is that they overwhelmingly outscored last year's champion, the 'Nimbro' team from the University of Bonn, who won the 2022 International Robot Competition 'ANA Avatar XPRIZE,' as well as the humanoid soccer league champion 'Tinker' team from Tsinghua University, by more than double the score.

Professor Lee Seung-jun expressed his pride by stating, "While most robot competitions are being dominated by Chinese robots, I am proud to prove that Pusan National University's own robotics and AI technology is at the world's highest level."

Upon hearing the news of Tidyboy's victory, President Lee Jae-myung celebrated on his social media, saying, "In the midst of fierce competition, I am filled with great pride that our students have been recognized for their top-tier technological capability and innovation."

He further stated, "They have greatly contributed to showcasing South Korea's capabilities in artificial intelligence and robotic technology to the world." He hopes that this achievement will enable our outstanding technology and talents to excel on the global stage.

President Lee also promised, "Since next year's RoboCup will be held in Incheon, the government will actively support our country to continue leading in the fields of artificial intelligence and robot technology."

Image source: Pusan National University Tidyboy Team / Photo provided by Pusan National University, reference photos for understanding the article / gettyimagesbank, President Lee Jae-myung / News1