[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PspagsTFvlg&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Tactile communications: it may not sound too exciting, but it’s precisely the field of research that produced a device which lets users “transmit the feeling of a kiss” long-distance.
The Kajimoto Laboratory at the University of Electro-Communications has created a device which consists of a hardware receptacle which is placed into the mouth, and software that remembers the movements of your tongue and sends them to the other connected device, which moves accordingly.
Of course, there’s more to a kiss than just the movement of the tongue, and the folks from Kajimoto plan to recreate them all…
“The elements of a kiss include the sense of taste, the manner of breathing, and the moistness of the tongue. If we can recreate all of those I think it will be a really powerful device,” they explain in a video showcasing the device prototype.
As for the usefulness of such a device, Kajimoto has a couple ideas about that, too: “If you have a popular entertainer use this device and record it, that could be hugely popular if you offer it to fans,” they conclude.