When UK-based couple Megan and Gary recently tied the knot at the Wroxall Abbey Estate in Warwickshire, it was a wedding for the books – and it wasn’t just the bridal party and their guests who thought so. Megan and Gary’s wedding was different in one notable way: a robot took their wedding pictures.
Looking for something different to the photo booths that have become so popular at weddings, Gary and Megan decided to task a nearly five-foot tall humanoid robot called Eva to capture their special day.
Eva – the robot launched earlier this year – was created by a British company called Service Robots, and Gary and Megan’s nuptials on 7 April was the first opportunity to put her skills to the test.
Eva has been designed to roam around a venue that has been smart-mapped using infrared sensors, and uses facial recognition to approach guests and ask to take their picture. Guests can choose between a wide range of photo styles on a touchscreen, and the picture Eva takes can either be printed at the venue, or shared to social media accounts.
Speaking to Bride magazine, Service Robots called this new approach to wedding photography “a great alternative to traditional photo booths”, noting that it doesn’t require guests to get out of their chairs for simple posed pictures.
“People are less interested in traditional photo booths. They are looking for something new and memorable that will really make their event stand out. None of the guests at this wedding will ever forget their first encounter with a robot photographer and it will provide the happy couple with a lovely reminder of their special day.”
According to the groom, this is exactly what the couple got from having Eva snap their wedding pictures.
“This was a fantastic addition to our day and our guests are still talking about it,” Gary told Bride.
“Eva went down a treat and really got people involved. It made a nice change from the normal photo booths.”
One could say, in this case an algorithm paints a thousand words.