Visit Daniel H.'s column >>

DANIEL H.

Add To Watchlist
Articles Posted: 7; Links Seeded: 236
Member Since: 1/2006Last Seen: 7/06/2009

The Hug Shirt... Outsourcing Human Contact

News Type: Other — Seeded on Fri Oct 19, 2007 11:13 PM EDT
advertisement

This sounds like an interesting idea... and I'm all for advances in technology, as I'm a huge tech junky. But I'm slightly torn by this... what does it say about our current state as a society? We're too busy to give real human contact so we find something to do it for us? We'd just rather outsource our personal efforts to computers? Or maybe we sincerely want to express an emotion via a hug, but no matter how much we want, we can't physically be there so we're willing to do what it takes?
I'm not entirely sure, but I know one thing- Now I want a hug.

The Hug Shirt is a shirt that makes people send hugs over distance! Embedded in the shirt there are sensors that feel the strength of the touch, the skin warmth and the heartbeat rate of the sender and actuators that recreate the sensation of touch, warmth and emotion of the hug to the shirt of the distant loved one.

Published to:

What's this?
Who's leading the conversation?
This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.
0.5
{"commentId":1115043,"authorDomain":"justinpm"}
JustinPM

Odd little thing.

{"commentId":1115043,"threadId":"164489","contentId":"1037066","authorDomain":"justinpm"}
    Reply#1 - Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:22 AM EDT
    {"canLink":false,"threadId":"164489","isPrivate":false}
    Leave a Comment:
    You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead.
    Newsvine Privacy Statement
    As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.
    {"threadId":"164489","contentId":"1037066"}
    Start TrackingStart Tracking
    Stop TrackingStop Tracking
    Back To Top | Front Page