And this is immediately a blocking effect, and this is immediately 2020. When, you remember, even if it seems wonderful, a decade has passed, we told you about lovers separated by an ocean, a state border or a block, about love that did not coexist and for this reason turned out to be among the side victims of quarantine, then without light at the end tunnel. We have been saddened by those long and strong relationships or those that have just blossomed, those couples who are hunting for a second chance or waiting for life together, and very young, still at home with their parents: the trap of isolation has photographed them implacably far away. , and there he kept them for a long time, evaporating or postponing indefinitely any occasion for a meeting, transfer, reunion. Well, it has a taste of that ruthless phase of our lives, an invention that today seems incompatible with a real, designed and built Chinese startup. This is, in essence, strange kissing device which transmits the effects of lip contact to users, effects collected by motion sensors hidden in this vaguely disturbing mouth made of silicone.

This car called MUAand gets its name from the sound people usually make when blowing a kiss.. MUA essentially also captures and reproduces sound and heats up slightly during kissing, making the experience more authentic, according to Beijing-based startup Siweifushe. There is, of course, a connection to the pandemic: the invention was actually inspired by the lockdown that took place (with particular violence in China) during the quarantine. In the worst case, China’s measures have resulted in authorities barring residents from even leaving their apartments for months on end. “At that time, I was in a relationship,” said inventor Zhao Jianbo, “but I couldn’t meet my girlfriend because of the blockade.i”. Then, as a student at the Beijing Film Academy, Jianbo focused his graduation project on the lack of physical intimacy in video calls. He later founded Siweifushe, which released MUA, its first product, January 22. The cost of the device is 260 yuan, or about $38. Surprisingly, within two weeks of its release, the company had sold more than 3,000 remote kiss devices and received about 20,000 new orders.

MUA resembles a mobile stand with colorless curved lips protruding from the front. To use it, the lovers must download the app on their smartphones and pair their cars so they can kiss. When they kiss him, the device seems to be able to return the kiss. But MUA, which has mixed-color lips but is always unisex, received mixed reviews, with some users saying they found it intriguing, while others said they (come on!) feel uncomfortable. Among the main complaints, mind you, stands out dissatisfaction with his lack of language. One person described it as “something like a baby’s pacifier,” as another told himself on Chinese online shopping platform Taobao. “very uncomfortable because it doesn’t feel like a real kiss at all.” Others, however, have confirmed its primary function to help those in long distance relationships. “Before,” the user wrote, “I could see my girlfriend, but I couldn’t touch her, and now there is a product that helps us experience the feeling of an almost real kiss.”

Another reviewer, and this is where it gets creepiest, said MUA is a fun product “even if you’re lonely.” Some commentators on Chinese social media Weibo also raised concerns that the device could be used for online erotic content, which is highly regulated in China. Of this possible rejection, Zhao said his company is following the rules, but “there’s not much we can do about how people use the device.” However, the MUA is not the first device designed to allow long-distance kissing. Researchers at the University of Electrical Communications in Tokyo invented the “kissing machine” in 2011, and the Malaysian Imagination Institute created a similar gadget called “Kissinger” in 2016. However, they must not have been a revolutionary success, considering this is the first time we’re hearing about it. It’s true that MUA sales are significant, but once the wave of curiosity subsides, the silicone-lip contraption, we fear, may not have a long glorious career.