An innovative long-distance kissing machine has been created by a Chinese startup to address the issue of loneliness among couples in long-distance relationships.
The device, named MUA after the sound of blowing a kiss, utilizes motion sensors hidden in silicon lips to transmit users’ kiss data, which is then replicated by moving the lips simultaneously.
The MUA also has the capability to capture and reproduce sound and offers a slight warming sensation during kissing, enhancing the authenticity of the experience, as stated by Siweifushe, a Beijing-based company.
Users are even able to download kissing data shared by other users through an accompanying app.
The concept for the invention was born out of the isolation experienced during lockdowns in China when people were unable to leave their homes.
“During the lockdown, although I was in a relationship, I couldn’t meet my girlfriend,” explained Zhao Jianbo, the inventor of MUA. The idea was initially developed as his graduate project at the Beijing Film Academy, addressing the lack of physical intimacy in video calls. He later established Siweifushe, which launched MUA as its inaugural product on 22nd January. The device is priced at 260 yuan ($38).
According to Jianbo, in the two weeks following its release, the company sold over 3,000 kissing machines and received approximately 20,000 orders.
The design of MUA resembles a mobile stand with colorless pursed lips extending from the front. To utilize it, couples need to download an app onto their smartphones and synchronize their kissing machines, allowing for reciprocal kissing interactions.
The device is offered in various colors featuring the same unisex lips.
MUA is not the first remote kissing device. In 2011, researchers at Tokyo’s University of Electro-Communications developed a “kiss transmission machine”, and in 2016, Malaysia’s Imagineering Institute created a similar gadget referred to as the “Kissinger”.