Realistic robotic penguins popular at Wakayama Theme Park

The robots--one modeled after a rockhopper penguin and the other after a gentoo penguin--are exhibited among real penguins at the theme park, the world's only facility to house 10 species of penguins.

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 Humboldt penguins. "I thought it was real," one visitor said.

The robots were created by Ikuma Okada, a 34-year-old leader of a group within the Adventure World operator.

Established in 2019, the group began developing robotic animals to let people who cannot visit the park feel closer to animals. It has made robots of many types of animals, including dolphins and tuna.

"We take meticulous care to make (robots) as realistic as possible," Okada said. "If you look closely and notice that what you're looking at are robots, it can provide an opportunity to take a fresh look at real animals."

The robotic penguins are covered in a material used in wetsuits. Toothpicks were used to form feather-like patterns on the material. The robots are remotely controlled by staff members.

Okada said he plans to improve the robots, including by making them more waterproof and using highly wear-resistant parts, so that they can move automatically for longer periods.