If you are involved in a long distance relationship, or were in the past, you must know what a drag the lack of intimacy can be. Sometimes late-night phone calls or instant messaging aren't enough; thus, most couples don't make through this test.

So, if you and your partner are ready to try anything to keep that love spark, a prototype device called Mutsugoto promises to help you, being especially designed for communicating intimacy between lovers’ mile-away bedrooms. The device has been developed by a technology laboratory called, not surprisingly, Distance Lab, based in Scotland, which describes itself as a creative research organization. Mutsugoto's basic concept is to allow couples that are separated by distance to communicate by drawing light on each other's bodies on beds.

One of the three developers, Stefan Agamanolis, explains that Mutsugoto has been designed to communicate intimacy and to offer an alternative to e-mails and messaging. The device isn't very complicated to use. After installing it in their bedrooms, all that lovers have to do is to sit in bed and wear the special designed touch-activated rings that are visible to a camera mounted above them.

A custom computer vision and projection system allows them to virtually draw on each other's body. The rings' moves are transmitted live in the form of beams of light projected on the partner's body or bed, thus creating a synchronous communication that gives the feeling of intimacy. The nice thing is that lines react with each other and change their color if they cross. There have also been created special bed linens or curtains for enhancing the romantic environment.

Distance Lab and New Media Scotland have just announced that they are looking for three couples involved in LDRs in order to test the device's effect on them. The conditions are that one of the partner lives in the vicinity of Edinburgh and the other one at least 250 km away. A demonstration of how Mutsugoto actually works will be featured in the Edinburgh Art Festival this August.


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