This headline would look weird anywhere else in the world, but not Japan. The robot I-Fairy conducted its first ever marriage, joining together Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue in holy matrimony at a Tokyo restaurant. The kid-sized pig-tailed robot recited its lines perfectly and made everyone smile - simple, but what more could you ask for?

The I-Fairy stands for “Intelligent”, “Information” and “Icon” and is (sort-of) designed like a fairy, with perky movements and a sing-song voice. It is not really the most advanced of robots, but it does its job of repeating pre-recorded or real-time response audio messages. Its gestures come from its movement generating software, which is programmed from a computer. The audio works the same way, except that it can also ad-lib from a person speaking on a microphone backstage.

It’s a performance robot that seeks to engage its audience, who often happen to be children. It’s gestures are also quite expressive, and can show different emotions by the way it moves it head and eyes. Besides performing on stage, it can also greet people and provide audio guidance to visitors.

Marrying people is perhaps not exactly what the developers had in mind when they first designed it, but just goes to show you how adaptive robots can be. The Japanese couple also weren’t chosen at random for an experiment, but specifically wanted a robot to perform the marriage rights, as their love for robotics is what brought them together in the first place.

The video shows the I-Fairy wearing a crown of flowers and literally flashing its eyes with joy. The ceremony looks a bit awkward, and I’m not sure how cool this will look years down the line, but more power to them. Seems like teachers won’t be the only professionals fearing for their jobs.


Wedding video courtesy of AP follows.