Sensory technology will send you a hug from across the world

Sensory technology will soon allow lonesome grandparents, separated from their loved ones by geography, to touch and embrace via the internet.

SENSORY equipment that enables people to share a hug across cyberspace is in development and may soon become part of everyday life. Nana and grandad will be able to press a button on a special vest and feel a ‘hug’ sent by children and grandchildren via the internet.

Using special software, the vest will receive signals via the internet and interpret the identified emotions expressed within messages, and respond by providing the appropriate physical sensation, such as that hug.