Robot conducts first electronic wedding in Japan

News in pictures
News in pictures
On Facebook
From the blogs

Disclosure: We’d never even been to a club when we made our first single

For most of us, reaching eighteen years of age opens up a new world for exploration, spontaneity and...

Top of the posts: Drunken rants, the Western Fail and misogyny pushers

The most read blogs this week, as determined by stats.

Sepp Blatter: Penalty shoot-outs must remain, they’re football’s great leveller

As England supporters, we should scorn at any such deciding factor within football. On so many occas...

Why do some men consider the street as a female meat market?

Pronouncements on sexual inequality in the UK are normally met with an eye roll by my generation. As...

Flashing eyes, plastic pigtails and a tinny voice are not necessarily what a bride and groom look for in their wedding master of ceremonies, unless they work in Japan's robotic industry.

Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue tied the knot yesterday under the watchful eye of a 1.5m android known as I-Fairy, in what the machine's manufacturer, Kokoro, said was the first robot-led wedding in the world.

Wires led from the bottom of the robot, bolted to a chair in front of 50 guests at a rooftop restaurant in central Tokyo, to a black curtain a few metres away behind which a man crouched, using a computer to operate the electronic wedding conductor's movement and utterances.

The robot, wearing a wreath of bright flowers and speaking in a tinny voice, waved its arms as it asked the groom to "Please lift the bride's veil", before inviting the newly-weds to kiss.

The happy couple chose this unique angle to their nuptials because they were keen to showcase an example of the new generation of androids. "This was a lot of fun," Satoko Inoue, the 36-year-old bride who works at Kokoro, told the Associated Press. "I think that Japanese have a strong sense that robots are our friends. Those in the robot industry mostly understand this, but people mainly want robots near them that serve some purpose."

Her new husband, 42-year-old Tomohiro Shibata, a professor of robotics at the Japanese Nara Institute of Science and Technology was a little more critical of the feminine android. "It would be nice if the robot was a bit more clever, but she is very good at expressing herself," he said. Japanese manufacturers are increasingly trying to inject robots into everyday life. The University of Tokyo has already developed two baseball-playing robots, Honda has created a child-like android, and a robotic grocery-packer was unveiled in Kyoto last year.

Kokoro, the Japanese firm which manufactures the I-Fairy, also produces humanoid robots which can laugh and smile, products which it hopes will "touch the hearts of the people". The I-Fairy is only one of three in the world and retailing at around 6.3 million yen (£47,000), it may be a while yet before it joins cake and confetti as a regular wedding fixture.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

Patrick Cockburn: I fear this terrible massacre will be the beginning of a long civil war in Syria

Patrick Cockburn

I fear this terrible massacre will be the beginning of a long civil war in Syria
Hardeep Singh Kohli: For me, it is all about 'Gregory's Girl', a record of first love

Hardeep Singh Kohli

For me, it is all about 'Gregory's Girl', a record of first love
Christian Louboutin: 'I don't think comfort equals happiness'

Christian Louboutin interview

'I don't think comfort equals happiness'
Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Hollywood's home to the A-list celebrates 100 years of discreet luxury
Rupert Cornwell: Low-rise capital could finally reach for the sky

Rupert Cornwell: Out of America

Low-rise capital could finally reach for the sky
The secret life of the red carpet

The secret life of the red carpet

As Cannes reaches its climax with the Palme d'Or and the celebrities gather in London for the Baftas tonight, Kate Youde and Jack Dean investigate the real star of the show
It's not easy being Professor Green: The rapper, the heiress and a drama made in Chelsea...

It's not easy being Professor Green

The rapper, the heiress and a drama made in Chelsea...
Hardcore, hard-wired: How the prevalence of porn is changing our everyday lives

How porn is changing our lives

It's everywhere - from pop videos to fashion magazines to the theatrical stage.
River Phoenix: the final reel

River Phoenix: the final reel

Twenty years after the actor's death, his last film is to be released
Facebook: The shares shenanigans

Facebook: The shares shenanigans

Investors are crying foul over the huge losses they incurred when the social network site floated on the stock market last week
Up and away – how '7 Up' went global

Up and away – how '7 Up' went global

As the last episode of Britain's '56 Up' airs, the first episode of '28 Up', from the former USSR, starts. Then there's the US, Japan, Germany...
You'll soon pick this up: Tuck into Bill Granger's fresh street food

Tuck into Bill Granger's fresh street food

It provides perfect party fare for some fun in the sun...
All to play for: How is Ukraine shaping up ahead of Euro 2012?

How is Ukraine shaping up ahead of Euro 2012?

Peter Popham casts his eye over the state of the Euro 2012 co-host ahead of the tournament.
Red or not, here they come: Artists reimagine the iconic telephone booth

BT ArtBoxes: Red or not, here they come

Artists reimagine the iconic telephone booth...
The Last Word: Premier bullies devise youth system bound to end in tears

The Last Word

Premier bullies devise youth system bound to end in tears