(Video Link)
Hugs are not yet available through the NeatoShop (vendor issues; oh, I could tell you stories), but that doesn't mean that you cannot find relief, thanks to the Sense-roid. This set up lets you hug a dummy. Sensors on the dummy correspond to compressed air chambers and vibration instruments on the user's vest. The result is that the user can feel his/her own hugs:
The illusion of a mutual hug with the half-humanoid is enhanced by artificial muscles and vibrating devices in the "tactile jacket", say the inventors from the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo.
"Many people initially feel surprised and uncomfortable about the unusual experience, but they gradually get accustomed to it until they feel comfortable and pleasant," said research team member Nobuhiro Takahashi.
Link -via Popular Science