Can the world expect to one day see a kimchi-powered android?
If South Korea has its way, the answer is yes. Already a hi-tech powerhouse, this ambitious nation is thinking well beyond the futuristic mobile phones and ultra-high-speed internet connections for which it is already famed. Every South Korean household, the government predicts, will own at least one robot by 2020.
In a showroom in ritzy southern Seoul, the first consumer robot designed by the nation's flagship company, Samsung Electronics, is already hard at work.
Whirring busily across the floor, about 10cm high and about 30cm wide, this disc-shaped robotic vacuum cleaner has been sold under Samsung's high-end Hauzen home appliance brand for 800,000 won (HK$6,789) since last July.
Sensors keep the 6kg droid from banging against the walls; a gyroscope keeps it on path. Battery-run, it automatically returns to its recharging bay when its power drops below 20 per cent.
'We developed the first model in 2004 and have sold around 3,000 in Korea,' says principal engineer Joo Jae-man. 'I think we will have a third model ready for export by October this year.'