A Chinese startup called Siweifushe has created a new ‘gadget’ with which it is possible to kiss from a distance. As is well. To work, the device records information about the movement of the user’s lips and then recreates it in a ‘gadget’ of the same type to which it is associated.
He FIRST, which is what the device is called due to the sound that people usually make when they kiss, also captures and reproduces the sound and heats up slightly, according to the manufacturer and the Reuters agency. Those who get one can even store the kisses they receive to relive them at another time.
As its creator, Zhao Jianbo, explains, the idea of creating the device came to him because of the pandemic, which, let’s remember, has continued to be very present in China in recent months. “I was in a relationship at the time, but I couldn’t meet my girlfriend due to the confinement,” says the inventor.
Jianbo focused his graduate project on the lack of physical intimacy on video calls. He later created Siweifushe and launched into the development of MUA, which is his first product, and has been on the market since the beginning of 2023 with a price of around 260 yuan, about 35 euros. And he’s not doing bad at all. In the two weeks after its launch, the firm sold more than 3,000 kissing machines and received around 20,000 orders.
The device, that must be connected to the ‘smartphone’ and is available in several colors, has large lips at the top. To use it, users need to download an app on their smartphones and link their kissing machines. Once one sends a kiss, the other receives it on his ‘gadget’ and has the chance to return it.
Despite the success, MUA has received criticism of all kinds. Some users said it was intriguing while others said it made them uncomfortable. Among the main complaints is the lack of language.
Some netizens on the Weibo social networking site also raised concerns that the device could be used for erotic content online, which is strictly regulated in China. The creator said his company complies with the regulations, but “there’s little we can do about how people use the device.”