In Japan a couple was wed by the iFairy, a 4-foot-tall robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails, that is bolted down in a sitting position on top of its computer. The robot is manufactured by Kokoro, and the company states that this is the first time that a wedding has been led by a robot.
The wedding took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo. The iFairy wore a wreath of flowers on her head, and conducted the ceremony on the roof of the restaurant. Although, the robot did have some human assistance. She was connected by wires to a control unit a few feet away. The human operator hid behind a black curtain where he remotely clicked commands into the iFairy’s computer.
With the government actively supporting the growth of the robotics field, Japan has developed one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world. Industrial models have been standards in factories, and now Japanese companies are making a push to have robots placed into everyday life. Honda makes a child-shaped robot that walks, and other companies are developing robots to entertain the elderly, or to play baseball.
Kokoro is a subsidiary of Sanrio Co., which owns the rights to Hello Kitty and other Japanese characters, claims that their goal is to “touch the hearts of the people. They also make giant robotic dinosaurs for exhibitions, as well as lifelike androids that can smile and laugh.
According to Kayako Kido, a spokesman for Kokoro, the iFairy sells for around $68,000, and there are currently three models in operation in Singapore, Japan, and the United States.
I dug up a couple of videos about the iFairy on YouTube. The first is a video of the recent wedding ceremony, and the second is a presentation of the iFairy at a trade show.
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