Row-bots: Two androids ‘bicker like a couple’ at a Chinese library as they are ‘annoyed by each other’s temper’
- Talking robots Tutu and Wangbao are high-tech guides at a library in China
- Funny footage appears to show them arguing at work in the building’s lobby
- One accused the other of having a bad temper, igniting the amusing argument
- The trending video has attracted many fans, but critics claimed it was staged
Two robots have amassed throngs of fans in China after appearing to bicker with each other ‘like a couple’ in a trending video.
The pair of talking androids were caught on camera quarrelling in a library lobby while working in the facility as high-tech guides.
The argument heated up when one accused the other of having a bad temper, leading the other to put forward the same accusation.
Talking robots Tutu and Wangbao provide useful information to visitors of the Jiangxi Provincial Library in south-eastern China. Amusing footage shows the pair appearing to argue
Amusing footage of the robotic squabble was filmed by workers at the Jiangxi Provincial Library in south-eastern China and released through its social media account yesterday.
Opened in October, the seven-storey building occupies a whopping 63,000 square metres (678,000 square feet) and boasts more than four million books.
It has two robotic guides, Tutu and Wangbao, which can converse with visitors and provide useful information to them near the library’s service centre on the first floor.
It remains unclear why the duo started to argue yesterday, but the 42-second clip shows Wangbao attempting to make peace with Tutu by asking it not to quarrel.
The argument heated up when one of them accused the other of having a bad temper, leading the other to put forward the same accusation. The clip was released by the library yesterday
After Tutu rejected the proposal and called Wangbao ‘temperamental’, Wangbao appeared to be infuriated and refused to look at Tutu.
Tutu failed to salvage the situation by apologising and eventually gave up appeasing its companion.
The androids’ funny conversation has led web users to compare them to an arguing couple.
On China’s Twitter-like Weibo, one fan joked: ‘Their salary should be deducted for arguing during work hours.’
Another viewer queried: ‘Robots are this smart nowadays and can even argue?’
A third commenter expressed their amazement at the robots’ accent: ‘How come they have the north-eastern accent?’
However, some web users suspected that the dialogues had been pre-programmed into the robots.
One person speculated that the pair was controlled by the person who filmed the video by having separate conversations with the robots.