There’s now a way to kiss someone through the phone — literally — and we are so intrigued
Nothing can compare to actual human contact, but this phone that transmits kisses to loved ones remotely is trying really hard to fill in the gaps for those times when you’re unable to reach out and touch someone. Whether you’re trying to make a long-distance relationship work or you’re away in college and badly missing your friends and family, the Kissinger smartphone sends a semblance of a smooch that will hopefully hold that special someone over until you can meet up for in-person affection.
So, here’s how sending kisses through the internet works: Basically, it’s all in the phone’s name, which is a combination of the words kiss and messenger. Emma Yann Zhang created the device with a protective case and an oval silicone gadget at the bottom that kind of resembles a squishy pumice stone, but whatevs. The device contains sensors that detect the lip action and transmit the user’s mouth movements to the smooch recipient.
Oh, and this all goes down during a live video chat, so there’s both visual and physical stimulation.
For the record, the phone has no correlation to Henry Kissinger, but thanks to Gizmodo for the joke.
More bizarre tech from 2016 – transmit kisses over the interweb using 'The Kissinger' – named after the US gov guy. https://t.co/OkhCaKRbGY
— Andy McNamara (@andymac3d) December 27, 2016
Needless to say, this smartphone transmission has a much broader purpose than simply one-upping those flirty emojis we use to send kisses over the phone.
Although Zhang has reassured us that “this research will not attempt to conclude whether it is ethically acceptable to have intimate relationships with robots,” (uh, thanks) the smartphone will mimic wearable tech devices by gathering stats like heart rate and blood pressure to see how the biological reactions elicited by these simulated kisses compare with the real thing.
