Want to kiss your partner who is far away? A Chinese device with warm, movable silicon “lips” seems to have the solution.
Chinese social media users are buzzing about the gadget, which is marketed as a way to enable long-distance couples to have “genuine” physical intimacy. Users have responded with both intrigue and shock.
The apparatus, which has pressure sensors and actuators, is said to be able to simulate the pressure, movement, and warmth of a real kiss.
It can communicate both the kissing motion and any sounds the user makes.
Remote kissing device for long-distance lovers, invented and patented by Chinese university student in Changzhou City.
— China in Pictures (@tongbingxue) February 22, 2023
The mouth-shaped module, served as an inducing area for lovers to make the kiss and then it can transfer kiss gesture to the “mouth” on the other side. pic.twitter.com/5i2ogMiUXe
Although many social media users found the device amusing, others denounced it as “vulgar” and “creepy.” Some people expressed worry that kids would purchase and utilize it.
One of the top comments on Weibo read, “I don’t comprehend (the device), but I’m absolutely surprised.”
Many hashtags related to the device have amassed hundreds of millions of views over the past week on the Twitter-like site.
Users must download a mobile app and insert the device into their phone’s charging port in order to send a kiss. Couples can begin a video conference and send copies of their smooches to one another after partnering with their partners via the app.
The kissing gadget is promoted as a solution for long-distance couples to have physical intimacy.
The Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology is said to have patented the innovation, according to China’s official Global Times.
“In my university, my girlfriend and I were in a long-distance relationship, thus our only means of communication was the phone. The device was inspired by that, according to Jiang Zhongli, the principal designer, who was quoted by the Global Times.
Jiang had submitted a patent application in 2019, but the patent would expire in January 2023, so Jiang hoped someone else would improve and develop the idea.
The Imagineering Institute in Malaysia unveiled a comparable creation called the “Kissinger” in 2016. Yet instead of looking like real lips, it was a touch-sensitive silicon pad.
The Chinese device, while marketed for long-distance romances, also enables users to meet up with total strangers in the app’s “kissing square” feature. If two strangers find each other and click, they can initiate a kissing exchange.
On the app, users can also “upload” their kisses for other users to download and enjoy.
Many customers who purchased the device for 288 yuan (US$41) have posted reviews of it on Taobao, the biggest online shopping platform in China.
My partner’s jaw dropped when she used (remote) kissing because she initially didn’t think it was possible. One customer wrote, “This is the finest surprise I’ve ever given her during our distance relationship.
“I appreciate technology.”
