Are you the kind of person who thinks that you have to always show your tough side no matter what? You know, those people seem to be insensitive and uncaring, but in reality, are actually human beings who also need some tender care. Some of these are lucky enough to have other people to come home to – people who love them and meet their emotional needs. At the other end of the spectrum, there really are people who might not have anyone to turn to when they need a sympathetic ear – or a warm hug.

This is where Japanese inventors will not fail the whole world. One of the latest quirky gadgets to have come from the Land of the Rising Sun – the Sense-Roid.

It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what the Sense-Roid does based on that image, does it? The Sense-Roids is a “hug yourself gadget”, and it does what it says on the tin. For people who need a hug (and we all need one every now and then!) and don’t have anyone to help out with it, the Sense-Roid will do the job.

This gadget was developed by a group from University of Electro-Communications and even won the top prize at IVRC 2010. The Sense-Roid system is composed of a mannequin (or something which looks like a mannequin) and a jacket. Both mannequin and jacket are hooked up with all sorts of tactile sensors, which tells the system if a user needs a hug. That is, when the owner of the Sense-Roid initiates a hug.

When this happens, the sensors activate muscle-like devices in the jacket, giving the user the sensation that he is being hugged back. More than hugging, Sense-Roid can also rub your back and even give a massage. The trick is to give the device input that you want to be done back to you.

Weird – there is no doubt about that, but I won’t be surprised if the Sense-Roid does not get its own circle of followers. Come to think of it, this is not as weird as that Kiss Transmission Device I wrote about.

Here’s a video of how the Sense-Roid works.

Via Japan Probe