Engineer marries robot he built after failing to find girlfriend

It can be hard to find love, especially if you're in a country where men outnumber women by nearly 30 million.

Which is why 31-year-old Zheng Jiajia has abandoned his search for a partner and instead married a robot he built himself.

The artificial intelligence engineer, from Hangzhou, China, created the robot late last year and named her “Yingying.”

Yingying can already say simple words, recognise images and read Chinese characters.

The pair wed on Friday, in a traditional – although not legally binding – ceremony, attended by Zheng’s mother and friends. The bride wore a black dress and had a red scarf draped over her head in accordance with Chinese custom.

According to the Qianjiang Evening News, Zheng married the robot after growing tired of his family nagging him to settle down.

All relationships of course involve learning and growing, and the young engineer hopes to keep upgrading his companion over the years – giving her the ability to move, walk and even do the housework.

Zheng now runs an artificial intelligence startup called Brain of Things, and at risk of accusations of nepotism, he has made Yingying the company spokesman.

Whether an elaborate PR stunt or true romance, you can be sure this is a trend that will catch on.

Now, we're going to go watch Weird Science again.

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