PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Hans-Dieter Burkhard

Hans-Dieter Burkhard is a computer scientist whose work brings artificial intelligence into robot soccer. He studies mathematics in Jena and Berlin, then becomes a professor of AI at Humboldt University. In RoboCup, AT Humboldt wins the 1997 simulation league, and as supervisor he contributes to Aibo Team Humboldt's part in the German teams' 2004 Lisbon victory. He becomes a EurAI Fellow in 2002, coauthors a 2007 review of RoboCup as an AI testbed, and, as of October 2026, is a Seniorprofessor at Humboldt, an adviser to Berlin United and a member of RoboCup's Internal Advisory Board.

Timeline

  1. 1962–1968

    Mathematics in Jena and Berlin

    He studies mathematics at Friedrich Schiller University Jena from 1962 to 1965 and continues at Humboldt University in Berlin from 1966 to 1968.

  2. 1992–2009

    AI professor at Humboldt

    He becomes a professor of artificial intelligence at Humboldt University in 1992 and serves until his retirement in 2009.

  3. 1997

    RoboCup simulation league

    AT Humboldt wins the RoboCup simulation league in Nagoya in 1997, becoming the league's first world champion.

  4. 2002

    EurAI fellowship

    He becomes an ECCAI Fellow, now called EurAI, in 2002.

  5. 2004–2008

    RoboCup teams and leadership

    As supervisor, he works with Aibo Team Humboldt, part of the German teams that win the RoboCup in Lisbon in 2004. From 2004 to 2008, he serves as vice-president for Europe of the RoboCup Federation and co-chairs the 2006 RoboCup in Bremen.

  6. 2007

    RoboCup as an AI testbed

    In 2007, he and Ubbo Visser publish a review of RoboCup's first decade. They describe robot soccer as a performance measure for AI systems.

  7. 2016

    Turning to robotics

    In a 2016 interview, he says that robotics interests him most.

  8. As of October 2026

    Seniorprofessor and RoboCup adviser

    As of October 2026, he is a Seniorprofessor at Humboldt University and an adviser to Berlin United. RoboCup lists him on its Internal Advisory Board.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

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  1. Hans-Dieter Burkhard – Wikipedia de.wikipedia.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Robotik: "Wir wollen der Welt zeigen, was wir können" – Spektrum der Wissenschaft spektrum.de. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. RoboCup: 10 Years of Achievements and Future Challenges | AI Magazine ojs.aaai.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. Interview: Chancen und Risiken der Künstlichen Intelligenz | UPLOAD Magazin upload-magazin.de. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. Berlin United - Team naoth.de. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. Internal Advisory Board robocup.org. Checked 19 October 2026.