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Being apart can be difficult, and while modern technology enables couples to see each other, affection can be hard to convey through a computer screen.
So what you need is an invention that simulates your partner’s actual kiss, right?
Ahem, yeah, there’s a strange new handheld device that connects to a user’s computer or smartphone. It has a pad that, once kissed, transmits the sensation to a twin device your partner is also kissing, creating the impression you’re sharing a kiss no matter how far apart you are.
It’s called the Kissenger, and while still a prototype and perhaps a little bit creepy, the makers claim it could have stress-reducing abilities.
Speaking at the Love and Sex With Robots congress in London, Emma Yann Zhang, who worked on the prototype, said: “Kissing is the most direct and universal expression of intimacy and affection.
“It’s a way for us to bond and maintain intimacy in our relationships. Also, it’s stress reducing; when we engage in this kind of intimate physical touch, we have a lower level of blood pressure.”
The Kissenger works using pressure sensors that record your kiss and then transmit it to the other device during video calls which run through a companion app on your smartphone.
There have already been several prototype generations of the Kissenger, with the makers saying their next objective is to introduce scent into the equation, so users can smell the person they’re kissing.
The developers have also dismissed the idea of it being used in an overly sexual way, suggesting parents can use it to give their children a kiss on the cheek when they are away from home with work.
