You Can Now Hold & Walk With A Robot Hand That Acts Like A Human Girlfriend’s
Image via Shutterstock
Japanese engineering researchers from Japan’s Gifu University — Koshiro Shiraki, Toru Notsumata, Moeka Miki, and Takeru Mushika — have created a prototype called ‘Osampo Kanojo’, also called ‘My Girlfriend in Walk’ in English.
As the name suggests, the product mimics a girlfriend’s hand for you to hold on to and walk together with in the streets.
The researchers noted that “for some people, finding a girlfriend is very difficult,” so they came up with Osampo Kanojo as a robotic companion for strolls in the park.
The product consists of several materials to imitate the feeling of holding a girlfriend’s hand. It attempts to evoke the sensation of touch, smell, and hearing.
The outer covering is made out of soft, pliable gel to translate “the tenderness of a woman’s hand.” It even has an internal pressure sensor, so when a user squeezes its palm, the motors will be activated to squeeze you back.
The researchers are also aware that when you’re typically walking with your girlfriend, your stride may not line up with your partner’s steps. So, to evoke the sense of walking with someone authentically, the Osampo Kanojo is fixed on a track that moves perpendicularly to your wrist. This way, the motors will slide back when you walk too fast and generate a tugging sensation on your arm.
To further replicate the feeling, the researchers included an internal heater to generate warmth from the machine’s palm and fingers. There is also a sheet of moistened fabric inserted inside to secret tiny amounts of moistures through the small pores in the outer covering.
The mechanical hand is packaged as a wholesome experience, as it can play sounds of a female’s footsteps, breathing, and the soft rustle of a dress. The Osampo Kanojo also exudes women’s shampoo scent that wafts up when its cloth is heated.
[via SoraNews24, cover image via Shutterstock]
Also check out these recent news
