Fresh KURA Lineup Extends RoboCup Legacy Ahead of UAE Hosting Asia-Pacific 2025 League
A team of seven Khalifa University students and researchers, competing as the Khalifa University Robotics Athletes (KURA), demonstrated their international competitiveness at the first-ever 鈥榃orld Humanoid Robot Games (WHRG) RCAP Beijing Masters 2025鈥� in Beijing, China. Against 32 of the world鈥檚 best university teams, KURA advanced to the top tier of the competition and finished in fourth place in the three versus three (3v3) RoboCup Humanoid Soccer category.
The KURA team was honored to receive personal congratulations from His Excellency Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, UAE Ambassador to China, marking a proud moment for Khalifa University.
The roster for WHRG 2025 included PhD in Engineering students Ahmed Albreiki, Saif Alameri, and Post Doctoral Fellow Dr. Binzhao Xu, Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering, Ahmed Sultan Alali, PhD, Computer Science, as well as undergraduate students Mohammed Alshorafa and Yaman Masad, Computer Engineering, with Obay Hussni, Mechanical Engineering. The team鈥檚 faculty supervisors included Professor Jorge Dias, Deputy Director, KU Center for Robotics and Autonomous Systems as well as Associate Professors, Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering, Dr. Irfan Hussain and Dr.听 Hamad Karki, and Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering, Dr. Ahmed Altunaiji.听
The Challenge involved programming Booster T1 humanoid robots to play fully autonomous 3v3 football matches, requiring the integration of advanced perception, locomotion, real-time decision-making, and coordinated strategy execution.
PhD student Ahmed Albreiki, who played a leading role in strategy design and path-planning, helped enable coordinated team behaviors and adaptive gameplay during the competition. He also gained hands-on experience in ROS2 and robotics frameworks, further advancing his expertise in the field.
Building on this momentum, KURA is preparing to compete on home ground at which Khalifa University will host in Abu Dhabi from 10鈥�15 November 2025. The event will coincide with Abu Dhabi Autonomous Week, creating a landmark moment for the UAE鈥檚 robotics and intelligent systems ecosystem. The competition will bring together global talent in robotics and AI, further cementing the UAE鈥檚 role as a regional hub for innovation and autonomous systems.
Dr. Hamad Karki, said: 鈥淭his achievement at the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games is a testament to Khalifa University students鈥� creativity, teamwork, and technical skills. They not only competed against some of the best international teams but also gained invaluable experience that will serve them well as they prepare for RoboCup Asia-Pacific 2025 here in Abu Dhabi. It reflects Khalifa University鈥檚 commitment to fostering talent that advances robotics and AI both in the UAE and globally.
鈥淭he WHRG participation follows KURA鈥檚 success at RoboCup 2024 in Eindhoven that won second place in the Humanoid Soccer category. While several team members from last year have since graduated, the Beijing competition allowed a new generation of Khalifa University students to gain valuable international exposure and practical experience.鈥�
Alisha Roy
Science Writer
