As if artificial intelligence couldn’t make things any weirder, a university in China has invented a unique and rather odd kissing device for all of you long-distance lovers, out there!
The moving silicon mouthpiece does all of the work for you; its sensors mimic the pressure, movement and heat of a partner’s lips while even transmitting smooching sounds to make it as realistic as possible.
According to China’s Global Times, the kissing machine was developed and patented by researchers at the Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology in East China’s Jiangsu Province.
How does it work? The device links up to one’s phone app and Bluetooth. When plugging the device to a phone, lovers or couples living in different places are able to feel their partners’ kisses when they’re away from them or are remaining distant during temporary illness.
“In my university, I was in a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend,” Jiang Zhongli, one of the inventors, told the Global Times. “We only had contact with each other through the phone – that’s where the inspiration of this device originated.”
When a user completes their first recorded kissing session, they can upload and save their ‘kiss’ to an accompanying app before sending it the recipient. The fake lips are designed to recreate the movements of partners’ kiss while also transmitting potential noises.
What could this mean for something like the metaverse and artificial intelligence? Innovators are on the fast track for a new technological discovery to “better enhance” human communication, but the question remains – does advancing the digital world’s “life-like” features slowly diminish human connection in the REAL world?
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