Mechanised love: Now, a machine that hugs you back
Here is one way to feel more loved
You might not be able to make someone love you, but you can design an elaborate contraption to provide physical affection.
Designer Petri Eskelinen has created a wood and metal sculpture called ‘Mechanics of Hugging’. A participant can walk up to the contraption, step on a platform, and grab a handle on either side to initiate a hug-like response in return. Wooden arms rotate and embrace the user, just like a human-to-human reciprocal interaction. (Yep, it’s just like that.)
In the description, Eskelinen writes that the viewer, “Must trust the construction and lean on it, then he/she is able to reach the handles. The viewer can turn these handles as if he/she would be hugging someone.” There you go. Reach out and trust someone (or something), and you might just get some tenderness in return.