Miwa Mayama (Professor Minoru Nakazawa, a research instructor), a 4th year student at the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, has developed a prototype of a "long-distance relationship support system, a pillow that connects with heartbeat and body temperature."
When you have a long-distance relationship due to employment or transfer, if it is difficult to match the time with the other person, asynchronous communication that is not real-time will increase.In addition, nonverbal communication such as "warmth" and "existence" cannot be taken.For these communication issues, there is a cushion-type media "Hugvie®" developed by International Telecommunications Research Institute Co., Ltd. as a previous research.However, the current situation is mainly for synchronous communication, and there are few measures to asynchronously support anxiety such as "I miss you" and "I miss you".
Therefore, Mr. Mayama proposed "a long-distance relationship support system, a pillow that connects with heartbeat and body temperature," HALOP "".Put your smartphone in a pillow with a built-in electric heater.The user can hear the heartbeat of the other person reproduced by the web application of the smartphone from the pillow that is as warm as the body temperature, and can feel the warmth and connection of the other person at any time.
The heart rate of the other party used in "HALOP" is acquired by measuring the heart rate through the wristwatch-type wearable terminal "Fitbit".The heartbeat sound reproduces a sound similar to the heartbeat sound with a web application according to the heart rate.It is possible to reproduce the heartbeat of an entertainer as long as the heartbeat information is known.
In a questionnaire conducted to 21 people, 95% answered "I think" or "I think a little" when asked "Would you like to have something like this when you feel lonely in a long-distance relationship?"In addition, 100% of the respondents answered that the approach of using heart rate and body temperature was "good" or "fairly good", and the demand for the concept was generally high.
