Wu Yulu And His Robotic Family

Chinese farmer Wu Yulu has a lot of children - somewhere between 32 to 40. However most of his offsprings are not of the human kind, but robots that he lovingly builds from scratch and grows attached to so much, that he even gives them the family name.

The 48-year old who lives in Mawu Village in Eastern Beijing has always been fascinated with mechanics of movement. Unfortunately, his parents were too poor to send him and his four siblings to school. Instead, they taught him the family business of farming.

That did not deter the young man. While he did not know they were called 'robots', he knew he wanted to build something that moved and spent all his free time searching for scrap objects he could use.

His first attempt about 20-years ago resulted in a robot that was 'disabled', that is, it did not move, and it was not until 1982 that he managed to build his first movable robot. Named Wu Laoda or first son of Wu, the robot comprised of steel wires and sticks and had no head or skin!

Things have improved since then - His latest creations not only move, but jump, paint, drink and even pull rickshaws! However, this learning curve has not been easy. Over the years, the farmer has had many accidents. In 1999, Wu's entire house burnt down, after an unattended transformer caught fire.

However, Wu Yulu is so passionate about his art that nothing will stop him from building more robots, which he says he loves even more than his kids.

His amazing creations have made the farmer quite famous. The inventor who still has no clue about physics, has received many prizes and awards. This month, 30 of his amazing creations are on display at the World Expo 2010, the world's largest trader fair, currently going on in Shanghai, China.

sources:chinadaily.com, dailymail.co.uk