They may be a technologically oriented lot, but even the most dedicated of engineering students know the value of a warm hug from a loving girlfriend -- especially those who can't get a date.
Three students from the University of Tsukuba in Japan have created a device called the "Riajyuu Coat," or fulfillment coat, to let their lonelier peers experience the sensation of being hugged from behind by a giggling, breathless female.
"It looks like a normal coat at first," says software Engineer Kota Shinbayasgi in a video uploaded by his team to Japanese video site NicoNicoDouga. "Users wear this coat, fasten the belt and wear headphones. Now it is prepared..."
The belt he refers to contains two robotic pincers controlled by a motor at the back of the garment.
A pair of USB headphones worn by the user blast the sound of footsteps running up from behind once the belt is fastened.
The pincers then squeeze the coat wearer's body from behind, simulating a woman's embrace, while a pre-recorded voice sourced from a popular Anime actress whispers things like "I'm sorry, were you waiting?" and "Guess who?"
"If I have a girlfriend I think it is a good situation that she suddenly hugs me when I wait for her at the station," said developer Maito Omari in the video. The project's hardware engineer Hikaru Sugira elaborated "The concept of this device is everyone can get the feeling of having a girlfriend."
Riajyuu is Japanese slang for someone "who is pleased with their life outside the Internet" according to Kotaku, who likens this device to the robotic butt developed by researcher Nobuhiro Takahashi at another Japanese university last year.
Takahashi is also the brains behind a headline-making kissing simulator and Sense-Roid virtual hugging vest.