Lovelife in the glow lane

13 March 2006 00:00  [Source: ICB]

Don’t say Boston’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s media lab is full of heartless intellects. Researchers have developed a way to keep long-distance lovers in touch with glowing wine glasses.

When one of the couple picks up a glass, red light-emitting diodes glow on their partner’s glass. When one puts a glass to their lips, the other glass glows. The glasses use liquid sensors and wireless links to keep them in touch.

Researchers Jackie Lee and Hyemin Chung said communal drinking is a vital part of social interaction that lovebirds miss out on when separated.

Lee, whose findings were reported in our sister publication New Scientist, said wireless glasses do ‘help people feel as if they were sharing a drinking experience together’.

The loving cups are to be unveiled next month at a conference in Montreal on computer-human interaction.

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