Engineer ‘married’ a robot he built himself after he gave up on his search for a spouse

Although artificial intelligence (AI) may seem to be a relatively new field, there have been committed people pushing its boundaries for many years. These innovators, who were frequently scientists or engineers, set the stage for developments that are taken for granted today.

Zheng Jiajia, a Chinese man who rose to fame in 2017 for creating a robotic companion in response to social pressure to get married, is one such pioneer. Zheng built a robot called Yingying after realizing that conventional dating was not working out for him.

Yingying was more than just a doll; she had some basic artificial intelligence. Interestingly, she had the ability to identify some Chinese characters—a capability akin to object recognition on contemporary smartphones. Zheng’s invention was made years before this technology, in a manner similar to how devices like the Rabbit R1 claim to be able to perceive their surroundings. His software is a reminder that great things can come from modest beginnings, even though it was obviously simpler with fewer input options and character recognition.

The field of robotics is rapidly expanding, driven by the indisputable rise in artificial intelligence. More and more advanced humanoid robots are being displayed at tech conferences and roadshows. Ameca is one such example—a fascinating humanoid torso with realistic muscles that can make expressions that are strikingly similar to those of a human. With artificial intelligence (AI) enabling somewhat stilted speech, Ameca can react to prompts and questions while making minute, uncannily realistic facial movements.

One wonders if Zheng is still dating his robot companion. Was it Yingying’s hardware or software that he enhanced after their unusual “marriage” in 2017? Regretfully, Zheng has been quiet about his personal life for a number of years. All we can do is hope he lives a happy life with his robot friend.