A gadget has been created to bring long-distance lovers even closer together – The Kissenger.
Created by Imagineering Lab, City University London, the attachment fits onto your smartphone and has a plastic pad that each user locks lips wth. The device then transmits the sensation to a paired holster with an identical pad.
“Kissing is the most direct and universal expression of intimacy and affection,” explained Emma Yann Zhang, who worked on the prototype. “It’s a way for us to bond and maintain intimacy in our relationships.” Zhang gave the presentation to an audience at the Love and Sex with Robots congress as Goldsmiths, University of London.
“Also, it’s stress reducing; when we engage in this kind of intimate physical touch, we have a lower level of blood pressure.”
The device’s Pressure sensors and actuators record and transmit your kiss to the receiving device, replicating the kiss to the recipient through an app. The app also features videocalling.
Whilst the device can accurately recreate the sensation of a quick kiss, long-distance makeout sessions are off the cards. The pad itself isn’t mouth-shaped and there is no simulation for a tongue.
Behind the creation of the device are David Cheok, Emma Yann Zhang, Yukihiro Morisawa nad Shogo Nishiguchi.
The creators also add that the device extends beyond a purely sexual function. “Parents can also use Kissenger to give their children a kiss on the cheek when they are away at work,” say its creators.
Zhang added that the next stage of the Kissenger will be to incorporate scent so you can experience the smell of the recipient of your smartphone enabled kiss.
