A 31-year-old Chinese man has married a female robot after his repeated failed attempts to find to a girlfriend for himself, the local media reported. Zheng Jiaja and his creation, which he named Yingying, tied the knot in a simple ceremony in the capital city of Zhejiang province in China on Friday.
Zheng, an engineer by profession, was seen in photos dressed in a black suit, while Yingying wore a black dress. The robot's head was covered with a red scarf. Zheng was seen carrying his bride at the ceremony following traditional wedding custom.
The artificial intelligence expert's mother and friends were present at the wedding ceremony.
One of Zheng's friends told the Qianjiang Evening News that the groom had grown weary of futile attempts to find a girlfriend. Towards the end of 2016, Zheng created the robot and decided to get married to it. Yingying can reportedly identify Chinese characters and speak some simple words.
According to reports, Zheng has planned to upgrade Yingying so that she can walk and help out with household chores like any other married woman.
Zheng, who was a former employee of telecommunications firm Huawei, joined Internet venture company Hangzhou Dream Town in 2014. A source was quoted by Qianjiang Evening News stating that Zheng has been fighting with his family for a long time for their acceptance to wed the robot. It is reported that he has been experiencing bad luck when it comes to pursuing women and hence he finally decided to marry his robot.
At first, the netizens believed that the news was just an April Fool Day prank but later it turned out to be a serious one. It is learned that Zheng dated Yingying for two months before proposing.
This unusual marriage may raise many an eyebrow, but it is lauded in the world of otaku that sees young men and women forgoing the search for a human partner and marry fictional characters in anime and video games as well as their doll companions. The trend began in Japan before it was spread worldwide.
Last year, one Japanese man, Senji Nakajima, told the media that he bought one such doll to provide sexual comfort as he works far away from his wife. Experts believe that robot-human relationships will be becoming popular in the coming years.
