Seoul Invests in a Robotic Future

South Korea’s capital Seoul has announced funding for a plan to become “robot friendly” as a strategic step for the city’s future.

The initiative has come from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which has committed USD156 million to prioritize robot technology.

Called the Seoul Comprehensive Robotics Industry Development Plan, the strategy aims to expand robotic services across sectors and anticipate the transition of Korea to a "super-aging society."

The plan runs until 2025 and has 15 policies in three key areas; establishing an investment fund for robotics projects, introducing robotic services in care facilities for both young and old demographics, and creating the Suseo Robotics Cluster to support robotic products.

Seoul currently accounts for 18% of the revenue from South Korea's robotics sector, scaled at around USD4 billion, comprising over 2,500 companies and more than 30,000 workers. 

Emphasizing the city’s leadership in robotics, an android robot called EveR 6 recently took the conductor's podium in a performance by South Korea's national orchestra.

The robot was designed by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and performed at the National Theater of Korea, where it led musicians from the national orchestra.

The robot bowed to the audience and waved its arms to control the tempo of the musicians.

Kim Tae-kyun, chief of the Economic Policy Bureau at the metropolitan government, said that robots are the city's "new future growth engine and effective tools to resolve the growing social problems."

Among the initiatives is the implementation of robots for human care at the Seoul Medical Center. Robots are already working at the Children's Hospital in the southern district of Seocho, which is run by the city government.

There are also plans to use robots in libraries and museums and use them to deliver food or patrol neighborhoods.

Daycare centers will also use them to read books to children, while there are 240 robots currently in use that are teaching seniors how to better use their smartphones. This number will more than double by 2026.

Image credit: iStockphoto/aomam