Galaxy’s Soulware robot OS and robot-idol roadmap explained

Archive update · September 23, 2026: this story preserves the announcement and plans reported at publication. The park’s full opening took place on August 21. For the subsequent New York appearance and listing plans, see the September follow-up. Plans described here should not be read as completed launches.

We covered the grand opening of Galaxy Robot Park on August 21. The media briefing held the same day set out Galaxy’s plans beyond the Seoul site: touring robot shows, own-developed hardware and a software platform.

Chief executive Choi Yong-ho set out the sequence. A robot arena in Dubai by the end of 2026, with third and fourth park sites in the United States being prepared through a local entity. A robot idol unveiled in the first half of 2027, with a world tour from the second half. An own-developed robot carrying children’s character IP, by the end of 2026 or in the first quarter of 2027. And, in the middle of all that, an operating system called Soulware.

What is Soulware?

Galaxy’s park performs using Unitree hardware. Soulware, as Choi described it, is an OS meant to drive robot hardware from multiple manufacturers through one control layer — “if US and Chinese companies make the robot hardware, we make the OS, like Google’s Android.”

The robot idol and world tour

Choi’s case for the robot idol centres on logistics: a K-pop world tour currently reaches 30 to 35 countries, and robots could take a show to 100 because they are not constrained by an artist’s calendar, travel tolerance or safety. He named South America, Africa and the Middle East as the kind of markets that open up when profitability and safety stop being binding constraints.

Galaxy plans a robot performance in September using the IP of Taemin, an artist on its own roster. Choi said beta testing across roughly 20,000 park visitors returned positive signals, and that the company will now validate acceptance with actual artist fandoms.

Privacy and consent

Galaxy says it has held back one capability. Robots at the park could recognise returning visitors and greet them by name; Galaxy says it will not enable that until risk management and security are in place. Choi framed privacy as the primary consideration and said personal data can only be collected under a system of explicit and continuing consent.

What comes next

The nearest dates on the roadmap are the September 21 New York appearance, the Taemin IP performance in September and the Dubai arena by the end of 2026. The robot idol and its world tour are planned for 2027.