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A Vest to Hug You

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hey-buddy-hug-you dept.

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."

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  1. Hugging machines by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.