A new invention out of Simon Fraser University aims to help partners in long-distance relationships keep their grip on love.

Students studying in a lab at SFU含羞草研究社檚 School of Interactive Arts and Technology have built a pair of interconnected gloves call Flex-N-Feel.

When fingers flex in one glove, the actions are transmitted to a remote partner wearing the other. The glove含羞草研究社檚 tactile sensors allow the wearer to feel the movements.

The sensors are attached to a micro-controller to capture the flex actions and provide a value for each bend, transmitted to the 含羞草研究社榝eel含羞草研究社� glove using WiFi.

The sensors are also placed strategically on the palm side of the fingers in order to better feel the touch. A soft-switch on both gloves also allows either partner to initiate the touch.

含羞草研究社淯sers can make intimate gestures such as touching the face, holding hands, and giving a hug,含羞草研究社� says associate professor Carman Neustaedter. 含羞草研究社淭he act of bending or flexing one含羞草研究社檚 finger is a gentle and subtle way to mimic touch.含羞草研究社�

The gloves are currently a prototype and testing continues. While one set enables one-way remote touch between partners, Neustaedter says a second set could allow both to share touches at the same time.

含羞草研究社淟ong-distance relationships are more common today, but distance don含羞草研究社檛 have to mean missing out on having a physical presence and sharing space,含羞草研究社� says Neustaedter. 含羞草研究社淚f people can含羞草研究社檛 physically be together, we含羞草研究社檙e hoping to create the next best technological solutions.含羞草研究社�

Other projects in the works at the lab include a virtual reality video conferencing system that lets one 含羞草研究社渟ee through the eyes含羞草研究社� of a remote partner, and another invention, called Be With Me, that enables users to video-stream a remote partner含羞草研究社檚 activities to a long-distance partner at home.