Slashdot Mirror
A Vest to Hug You
Roland Piquepaille writes "In "New vest offers wearer a portable hug," the Boston Globe reports that engineers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have designed a vest to help people suffering from autism or high anxiety. This inflatable vest has pockets that hold air bladders and is powered by 10 AA batteries. When you push a button, the vest squeezes — or hugs — you. Now the engineers also want to know if their vest is effective — apparently a premiere. So they're testing it with both students and psychatric patients. So far, it's just a prototype, but read more for additional details and a picture of this hugging vest."
ehh..testing, 1,2,3
Being a nerd, I will admit to being somewhat inexperienced on this subject, but it is my opinion that a hug is about being close to someone and feeling their warmth, not being sqeezed by an air compressor...
Surely, this gadget will provide a ray of hope for cold, unfeeling, wireframe mothers everywhere.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
Wouldn't using this vest be like giving yourself a hug?
Wouldn't that be like trying to tickle yourself? (Note you can't; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickling)
If "disco" means "I learn" in Latin, does "discothèque" mean "I learn technology"?
This is a great invention for pirates!
Not only does it hug you to sleep on those long pacific ocean crossings, but it'll also serve as a life vest should the unthinkable happen and your land-lubber-hearties force you to walk the plank!
Roger the cabin boy must be so relieved by this idea...
>>>Scanning for I.D.I.O.T.S. >>>
>>>I.D.I.O.T.S. FOUND! >>>
But it will be a top seller among the ravers
The meaning of a hug to me is comparative to a handshake, i.e. it is the thought behind the action that counts, not just an imitation of it. Now it is possible that a psychiatric patient might benefit from something like this, as I know some of them are extraordinarily desperate for any kind of perceived warmth and kindness, even if it is simulated.
If they are going to design biomechanical clothing, they might as well design a pair of shorts to massage your lower torso. They would be very popular with slashdotters who still live with their parents:
Bobby: Calls through closed bathroom door "I need to get another pair of massage shorts this pair is almost worn out."
Mother: "Why Bobby, that's your third pair of massage shorts this month you've worn out."
Son: *silence*
Mother: "Bobby, what are you doing in there." knocks on door "Open this door this instance."
Bobby: "Go away. I'm brushing my teeth. Yeah, that's it, brushing my teeth."
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
on this brilliant invention. It is probably the most obvious canditate for an Ignoble award ever.
Reminds me of that Douglass Coupland book. There's a hug machine for comforting mildly autistic nerds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPod
Dr. Evil: Well, don't look at me like I'm friggin' Frankenstein! Come here and give your father a hug.
Scott Evil: Get away from me, you lazy-eyed psycho!
Of course, it would have to be an EVIL hugging vest. Now where are the (oblig) sharks with frickin' lasers.
Here's the original hug machine the story refers to, if you're interested.
http://grandin.com/inc/intro-squeeze.html
Of course, Dr. Grandin also designs slaughterhouses.
I want a vest like the one worn by Michael J. Fox during Back to the Future Part II. You know, the one that automatically dried itself out after he fell into the fountain? Your clothes are now dry!
There is no mod option "-1: Disagree" for a reason. "Overrated" is not an acceptable substitute. Post something instead.
Scientist have come out with a smaller, more portable version of the hug vest. It is a collar that slips over your arm and just gives your bicept a little hug. It has the added benefit of telling you your blood pressure afterwords. Perfect for the high anxiety market. Groundbreaking inventions here!
So they're testing it with both students and psych[i]atric patients.
How do they tell the difference?
i doubt that will make anyone feel better
...
but it will feel so good when they stop
It makes me kind of sad to think that there's so few people around to hug those who need it that we need an artificial replacement.
Where's the love, man?
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
My brother has autism, and he still likes to wrap himself up in blankets and heavy jackets whenever he can. He's always extremely unsure of himself, like when he's ice skating -- perfectly capable of doing so on his own, but unless somebody is with him he goes straight to the walls. I don't know specifically what type of autism he has, but I'd guess it's this -- he can't talk at all, other than grunt-like sounds. He has learned some sign language though.
It's never just a game when you're winning. - George Carlin
for less money you can get a hug too, and at the expense of no batteries, just blow until it's full. Sex shops already sell them... :P
Onda Technology Institute
That's the actual experiment ! It's not about hugging vests, it's about the difference between the two groups. It compares mildly to the Stanford prison experiment in that way.
Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
The vest hugs you!
The point isn't to simulate a hug, that's just a cute name. The point is the squeezing feeling.
There has to be a joke in here about 10 AA batteries, a vest of comfort, and vibrators...
I can't find the joke, but I know it is here somewhere.
This is a variation on the Squeeze Machine that Temple Grandin developed for herself. Some types of autistics need/crave tactile stimulation. It can help them organize themselves, and even can be a form of pleasure. I know one fellow with Asperger's who said he loved it when people punched him in the gut.
This vest can't really give a "hug" - there is no emotional dynamic there. However, I believe people suffering from autism often hug or rock themselves: the term is "autostimulation". If this vest can provide that stimulation, it may well give some autism sufferers the help they need to cope with their disorder.
I am not a psychologist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!
I have a family member with an autistic spectrum disorder. Occasionally, she will become overly anxious, needing some sort of sensory input. One way to calm her is to have her lay on a bean bag chair, put another on top of her, and gently sit on the top bean bag. The pressure gives her sensory input, and calms her down tremendously. I didn't believe this would work, but luckily, professional therapists were aware of this and educated me.
Remember, everybody: if you see a link saying "additional details and a picture", it's another slashvertisement by Roland Piquepaille linking to his blog.
There are tools to filter out his shameless plugs.
- RG>
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
I'm gonna be gassy for a week!!!
Yomigaeru Aiyan Geek!!!
Like that fingeriffic neck massager, I give an ETA of four and a half minutes before someone strips down and wears the vest the wrong way.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
In Soviet Russia, vest hugs you!!
...
... damnit!
You wanna hug? Just don the vest that's under your airline seat and yank on both blue handles.
Anyone else not at all surprised that Roland is interested in artificial hugs? God knows it's the only kind he's going to get around here.
BTW, any information on just how much pressure those things can generate? It would be an awful shame if they were to pop somebody. Awful shame...
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
This thing needs modules.
Like a C-Cup simulator.
The "reach around and squeeze my buttocks during the hug" simulator should be a big seller too.
The only design element is a big opening labeled 'EXIT'.
I can totally see how being hugged by an invisible presence would decrease anxiety.
My son is Autistic and I think that many people seeing this think of hugs as being interpersonal or emotional or warm, etc. only. However, Autistics kids and adults need certain types of sensory stinuli to counter other stimuli and this is where the non-emotional, non-interperosnal hug machine comes in. They literally just need the pressure, which results in specific internal hypersensory responses which, in turn, help them manage other hypersensory overloads. There are many responses like this in our own world that we ignore or are not consciously aware of because we are not hyper sensory. The only example I can think of, of the top of my head, is how many people are bothered by the labels on clothes. Now that "bother" would not be questioned by anyone and many people cut the tags of just because of the irritant. Now think about the same tag causing irritation at 1000 times that felt by you. That is why the Autistic childs reaction is so much more profound.
Paul