TOKYO: Japanese inventors have pushed the frontiers of technology with the ultimate companion for lonely singles — a wired torso-shaped device that you can hug and that hugs you back. The “Sense-Roid” looks like a tailor's mannequin with silicon skin and is packed with pressure sensors. It is connected to a jacket worn by the human user that replicates the embrace with the help of air compressors. The illusion of a mutual hug with the half-humanoid is enhanced by artificial muscles and vibrating devices in the “tactile jacket”, say the inventors from the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo.
