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.
他们也许是科技狂人，但即使是最专注于研究的工程学学生也知道来自深情女友的一个温暖拥抱的价值——特别是那些没人和自己约会的男生。
日本筑波大学的三个学生发明了一种名为“满足外套”（Riajyuu coat）的装置，让孤独的同伴们能体验到被咯咯笑的呼吸急促的女孩从后面抱住的感觉。
软件工程师Kota Shinbayasgi在他的团队上传到日本视频网站NicoNicoDouga的一个视频中说：“乍看上去这就像件普通的外套。用户穿上这件外套，系紧腰带，带上耳机。准备就绪……”
他所指的腰带包含由外套背面的发动机控制的两个机器人手臂。
一旦系上腰带，用户就能从戴着的USB接口耳机里听到从背后跑过来的脚步声。
这时候机器人手臂就会模仿女人从后面把穿外套者的身体抱紧，同时用户会听到预先录好的流行动漫女主角的声音轻轻地说“对不起，你久等了吧？”或者“猜猜我是谁？”
该外套的研发者Maito Omari在视频中说：“如果我有女朋友，当我在车站等她时她突然把我抱住，我觉得这样的情景很美好。”该项目的硬件工程师Hikaru Sugira解释说：“这一装置的理念是让每个人都能体会到有女朋友的感觉。”
Kotaku说，Riajyuu在日本俚语中指“在网络外的现实生活中感到很满足的人”，他认为这一装置和去年另一所日本大学的研究人员Nobuhiro Takahashi研发的机器人屁股很类似。
Takahashi也是曾经登上头条新闻的接吻模拟器和Sense-Roid虚拟拥抱夹克的研发者之一。