Want to blow a kiss to your lover from a distance? A Chinese contraption with silicone “lips” seems to provide this reality.
The device, billed as a way to allow long-distance couples to share “real” physical intimacy, is causing a buzz among Chinese social media users.
Equipped with pressure sensors and actuators, the device is capable of imitating a real kiss, replicating the pressure, movement and temperature of the user’s lips. Along with the movement of the kiss, it is also possible to transmit the sound that the user makes.
However, while many social media users saw a funny side to the device, others criticized it as “vulgar” and “creepy”. Some have expressed concern that minors might purchase and use it.
“I don’t understand (the device) but I’m totally shocked,” said one of the top comments on Weibo, a popular social network in China.
On the Twitter-like platform, various hashtags about the device racked up hundreds of millions of views last week.
To send a kiss, users need to download a mobile app and plug their device into their phone’s charging port. After pairing with their partners on the app, couples can start a video call and broadcast replicas of their kisses to each other.
According to China’s state-owned Global Times, the invention was patented by the Vocational Institute of Mechatronics Technology in Changzhou.
“At my university, I had a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend, so we only spoke on the phone. That’s where the inspiration for this device came from,” said Jiang Zhongli, the main inventor of the design, according to the Global Times.
He said Jiang had applied for a patent in 2019, but it was ready in January 2023.
A similar invention, the “Kissinger”, was released by Imagineering Institute in Malaysia in 2016. However, it was manufactured in the form of a touch-sensitive silicone pad rather than realistic-looking lips.
Though advertised for long-distance relationships, the Chinese device also allows users to anonymously pair up with strangers in the app’s “kiss square” function. If two strangers match and like each other, they can ask to kiss each other.
Users can also “upload” their kisses into the app for others to download and experience.
On China’s biggest online shopping site, Taobao, dozens of users shared their reviews of the device, which costs the equivalent of $41.
“My partner didn’t believe that (remote) kissing could be achieved at first, so her jaw dropped when she used it… This is the best surprise I gave her during our long distance relationship. Thank you technology,” commented one user.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
