Korea Powers Up Huge Robot World

When you were young perhaps you imagined this cool theme park. It would have huge robots in it, and even a monorail, and you'd give it the name Robot World because, let's face it, that's exactly what a theme park about robots should be called.

Now it seems childhood dreams could be realised if plans for a real Robot World in the Korean city of Incheon actually goes ahead. Basically the development is a strange hybrid of an amusement park and a technology research campus combined into one as if Disneyland had actually morphed with the animation unit.

Supported by the South Korean government via legislation, and specifically the Robotics Development Law, the scheme has an overarching ambition of making South Korea one of the dominant manufacturers in robotics. The Korean government sees this is as a major growth industry with service robots able to help an aging western population and having massive export potential.

Despite the government backing however, $560 million price tag that the scheme has some 85% of the funding comes from private sources such as LG Electronics, Poscon and Pico.

The development designed by Gansam Partners consists of a number of different sectors including a robot water park, a cyber zoo with robotic animals, and robotic island of flowers. Also included in the entertainment section is a ferris wheel, and more unusually robot battle stadium where the products of the corporations who occupy the research areas of the park will do battle in public.

119,602 square metres of space for research, education and administration facilities will be provided in a cluster of buildings whilst there will also be several gracefully residential towers rising up to 111 metres in height.

Most noticeably however is the giant robot designed to stand in the middle of the park. Unfortunately this isn't a real working robot that's can come to life and rampage across the sea to destroy Tokyo - instead it serves as an observation tower with a food court in it that will see human customers serviced entirely by robots. It also helps stamp visually speaking, the robot brand on the entire area making it unmistakable.

Then again, maybe it is a powered down Optimus Prime hiding in plain sight, but watching over us in secret, waiting, protecting...