Hugvie is a brightly-colored pillow in an extremely generic shape of a person. Within the large cushion, there is a pocket that’s designed to house a smartphone or regular cell phone during a call. According to Ishiguro, the Hugvie uses a micro-controller and two vibrating discs to “translate” the emotions of the caller’s voice into physical form. The two vibrators act in conjunction to replicate a human heartbeat. The speed as well as the intensity of the heartbeat is completely dependent on the volume and mood of the caller.
Source: Minato, T., Nishio, S., Ishiguro, H. 2013 Evoking an Affection for Communication Partner by a Robotic Communication Medium. In proceeding of: ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI2013).
http://www.geminoid.jp/projects/CREST/hugvie.html
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/smartphone-enabled-hugvie-adds-physical-sensation-to-phone-calls/
