Robot farming

A Chinese farmer has been forced to sell his beloved home-made robots to pay off debts after his house burnt down, state media reported.

All 25 robots are made of wire, metal, screws and nails found in rubbish sites, with some able to serve tea, light cigarettes and push rickshaws, the China Daily newspaper said.

Wu Yulu, 44, from Mawu village in eastern Beijing, sold one robot for 30,000 yuan (£2,000).

"I couldn't sleep for several days after selling the child, but I had no other choice. I had to pay off my debts," Wu was quoted as saying. I love to play with robots. The cleverer they became, the deeper the emotional link I felt to them. Later, I began to call them my sons."

Wu now plans to build new robots to help repay his debt.

Feature stories on the "farmer inventor" began appearing in various media. After one report on China Central Television (CCTV), its science channel hired Wu as a prop-maker, paying more than 3,000 yuan (US$375) a month. Each week he goes to CCTV for orders and makes them at home.

Selling robot Wu Laowu helped speed the repayment of his loan. "The neighbours would not mention money, but I had to show them some consideration," he said.

Last month, Wu made the headlines again for a new invention, a robot able to pull a rickshaw one step every three or four seconds.

Sitting in the rickshaw, Wu said he has no plans to start a robot business.

"I can invent robots able to carry a sedan chair, and next I will make robots of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. There are so many good things in life, and they become the basis for my robots."