Robot penguins make a splash at Wakayama theme park
Visitors looked amazed to see one of the robots deftly move its flippers to change direction and dive deeper into the water as it swam next to real penguins.
Shirahama, a town in Wakayama Prefecture, is seeing a growing fascination with two robot penguins at Adventure World theme park. These robots, modeled after rockhopper and gentoo penguins, are displayed alongside real penguins, making them the world's sole venue to house ten penguin species. Visitors are often left in awe, mistaking the robot's fluid movements for the real thing.
Ikuma Okada, a 34-year-old leader of the Adventure World operator, developed the robots to provide an immersive experience for those unable to visit the park. The group, formed in 2019, has created robotic animals such as dolphins and tuna. Okada emphasizes the meticulous attention to detail in crafting the robots, making them nearly indistinguishable from real animals to the untrained eye.
The penguin robots are made from a wetsuit material, adorned with toothpick-like feather patterns. Controlled remotely by staff, Okada plans to enhance the robots' waterproofing and durability to enable extended, automated movement.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
