中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
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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.(Agencies) |
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Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair. The nuptials at this ceremony were led by "I-Fairy," a 4-foot (1.5-meter) tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. 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 of flowers and directed a rooftop ceremony. Wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain a few feet away, where a man crouched and clicked commands into a computer. Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world, with the government actively 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 corporate goal is to "touch the hearts of the people," also makes giant dinosaur robots for exhibitions and lifelike android 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 yen ($68,000) and three are in use in Singapore, the US and Japan, according to company spokeswoman Kayako Kido. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
當新娘身穿潔白的婚紗走過長廊，幾乎所有人都站了起來，唯獨婚禮司儀例外，因為“她”被固定在了她的座椅上。 上周日的這場婚禮由一個名叫“愛精靈”的坐式機器人主持。這個機器人身高4英尺（1.5米）、眼睛閃閃發光，梳著塑料辮子。據這款機器人的制造商Kokoro公司介紹，機器人主持婚禮在世界上還是首次。 在當天的婚禮上，“愛精靈”用細小的聲音說：“請為新娘掀開面紗”。當新郎新娘在約50名賓客面前親吻時，“愛精靈”還揮舞起雙手。 這場婚禮在東京中部日比谷公園的一家餐廳的屋頂上舉行?！皭劬`”頭戴花環，幫助新人完成了儀式。距機器人幾英尺遠處有一個黑簾子，簾子后面是一臺與機器人身體相連的電腦，有人在此通過電腦發布指令。 由于政府大力支持該領域以應對未來發展，日本的機器人產業一直處于世界領先水平。應用于工廠的工業機器人目前已經非常規范，而最近日本公司正在推進機器人在日常生活中的使用。 本田公司開發了一種可以行走的兒童型機器人，其它公司還開發出了幫老年人解悶和會打棒球的機器人。以“觸動人心”為宗旨的Kokoro公司曾研制出供展覽的大型恐龍機器人，以及會微笑和大笑的仿真機器人。Kokoro公司隸屬于三麗鷗公司，該公司旗下有Hello Kitty和其它一些日本卡通人物形象等文化品牌。 任職于Kokoro公司的36歲的新娘井上聰子說：“讓機器人來主持婚禮真的很有意思。我覺得日本人有一種把機器人看作人類朋友的強烈意識。在機器人領域工作的人都十分理解這一點，但人們主要還是想讓身邊的機器人為他們做些事情。” 據Kokoro公司女發言人木戶加代子介紹，每部“愛精靈”售價約630萬日元（6.8萬美元），目前有三部分別在新加坡、美國和日本供使用。 相關閱讀 （中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯蔡姍姍） |
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Vocabulary: wedding conductor:婚禮司儀 android：機器人 subsidiary：company whose voting stock is more than 50% controlled by another company, usually referred to as the parent company（附屬公司，子公司） |
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