By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

South Korea plans to spend 10 billion won (about $8 million) next year to develop technologies for advanced medical and surveillance robots, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday.

Curexo and Samsung Techwin will be on the receiving end of the government research and development (R&D) fund that is intended to help the companies gain stronger positions in the growing global market for robots and also reap the benefits of homegrown intellectual property.

Curexo will get 4 billion won and work with Samsung Medical Center to develop a medical robot that specializes in artificial joint surgery, while Samsung Techwin plans to team up with the state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) to build a robot that can guard important facilities against intruders and protect property from damage. The surveillance robot project will get 6 billion won from state funds.

The local market for robots able to conduct human joint surgery stood at 92 billion won as of last year, up more than 50 percent from the previous year, according to the ministry. Because the country does not make such machines, all local demand is met by imports.

``Surgical and observation robotics have good market potential and the government is willing to provide additional support to facilitate follow-up investment by local companies and to help fuel exports," said Vice Knowledge Economy Minister Rim Che-min.

The global market for medical robots, which came to $2.88 billion in 2008, is expected to top $7.34 billion in 2013, the ministry said. It has grown by an average of 20 percent every year.

The worldwide market for upper-end observation robots also has considerable growth potential, with industry sources predicting that the global market will grow 38.6 percent from 2008 to $13.3 billion in 2012.

Such robots can be used to protect facilities such as oil bunkers and production systems. They cost less to maintain than hiring security guards and can be programmed to conduct security operations without rest.

As part of its efforts to meet growing demand for such robots in oil-rich countries, Samsung plans to set up an observation system at an oil bunker operated by KNOC, which can be used as a testbed to check the capabilities of surveillance robots.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr