日本机器人世界首次主持婚礼

Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle¹ in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.

当新娘身穿洁白的婚纱走过长廊，几乎所有人都站了起来，唯独婚礼司仪例外，因为“她”被固定在了她的座椅上。

groom² TomohiroShibata 42, and bride Satoko Inouye, 36, at a Tokyo restaurant Sunday, May 16, 2010." width="400" height="237" src="http://www.enread.com/upimg/100522/4_031426_1.jpg" />
I-Fairy, a four-foot tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails, directs a wedding ceremony for groom TomohiroShibata 42, and bride Satoko Inouye, 36, at a Tokyo restaurant Sunday, May 16, 2010.

The nuptials³（婚礼） at this ceremony were led by "I-Fairy," a 4-foot (1.5-meter) tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails（辫子） . Sunday's wedding was the first time a marriage had been led by a robot, according to manufacturer Kokoro Co.

"Please lift the bride's veil," the robot said in a tinny voice, waving its arms in the air as the newlyweds kissed in front of about 50 guests.

The wedding took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, where the I-Fairy wore a wreath（花冠） of flowers and directed a rooftop ceremony. Wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain a few feet away, where a man crouched⁴（蹲伏，蜷缩） and clicked commands into a computer.

Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world, with the government actively⁵ supporting the field for future growth. Industrial models in factories are now standard, but recently Japanese companies are making a push to inject robots into everyday life.

Honda makes a walking child-shaped robot, and other firms have developed them to entertain the elderly or play baseball. Kokoro, whose corporate⁶ goal is to "touch the hearts of the people," also makes giant dinosaur⁷ robots for exhibitions and lifelike android（机器人） models that can smile and laugh. The company is a subsidiary of Sanrio Co., which owns the rights to Hello Kitty and other Japanese characters.

"This was a lot of fun. 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," said bride Satoko Inoue, 36, who works at manufacturer Kokoro.

The I-Fairy sells for about 6.3 million yen⁸ ($68,000) and three are in use in Singapore, the US and Japan, according to company spokeswoman Kayako Kido.