Fukui: Giant Dinosaur Robots to Appear in Front of Station

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:20 JST, March 4, 2023

FUKUI — The Fukui prefectural government will install two life-size robot dinosaurs next year in front of JR Fukui Station, which will become a Hokuriku Shinkansen stop next spring.

The prefectural government wants to promote itself as a dinosaur kingdom as many fossils have been discovered in its area.

The robots — a Tyrannosaurus and a dinosaur called Suchomimus, both measuring about 10 meters in length — will be set up in front of the west exit when the Shinkansen service starts.

They will add to the collection of dinosaur monuments that are already located at the station — nine at the east exit, and three at the west exit. Another monument is planned by the Fukui city government for next February, so the total number of such monuments will be 15.

The robots planned by the prefectural government also feature realistic movements and sounds, which will be reproduced using robot technology. A large transparent display using augmented reality technology will also be set up to superimpose dinosaur images on the city’s scenery at the west exit. 3D holograms will also be projected in a nearby commercial area.

“We hope to present a world of dinosaurs that would rival that of theme parks, and to raise the profile of the prefecture,” an official in charge of the project said.