Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

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."

6 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. Eeeh... by Olix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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...

    1. Re:Eeeh... by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 2, Insightful
      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

      Certainly the social aspects are a big part of it, but it's possible that light squeezing pressure on the chest may have a physiological effect. I would speculate that it might, for example, stimulate more complete exhalation, which would in turn trigger a relaxation response.

      It would be interesting to compare a vest like this with the use of calming acupressure points to induce relaxation responses.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    2. Re:Eeeh... by Billosaur · · Score: 5, Insightful

      However, for an autistic individual, sometimes the simple pressure on the skin provides a calming effect, or is a stimulus they require to maintain control. I worked with the autistic and developmentally disabled for 8 years; I had many a client who required some kind of tactile stimulus, either as constant input (self-stimulatory behavior) or for behavioral control (comfort). This is ideal, as it would be a lot less obtrusive than some of the ways we came up with to provide such stimulation.

      --
      GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
  2. Re:Hugging by Nyago · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Probably, but it's better than nothing. I suffer from severe OCD, often making real hugs more stressful than simply avoiding human contact. This vest sounds like a reasonable stand-in for those times that I need a hug but can't bring myself to actually go through with one.

    --
    Reality is fluffy!
  3. Re:Call me a hippie by TayKettle · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The article probably frustrated the researchers - and certainly misled most of the slashdotters - by fixating on the idea of a hug. I'm not sure how it would work for people suffering from anxiety, but for people with autism, what they want is specifically a calming pressure without the stressful-for-them element of human emotions. Definitely not a hug. I'd like to know what Dr. Grandin thinks of the vest. By the way, she is a consultant on slaughterhouse design because she knows how to build them so that they are less stressful for the cattle than conventional ones. Think empathy, not sadism or callousness.

  4. Re:Hugging by ClosedSource · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Thank you Doctor. I didn't realize there was a scientific link between OCD and a lack of hugging.

    Seriously, this sounds like the typical US tendency to find someone to blame for every medical condition.