ifeel_im! Lets You Get Hugs Online

Has creepiness reached a new level?

In every sense of the word, ifeel_im! (short for "I feel, therefore I am!") is a haptic-feedback communication system. The brainchild of Japanese telepresence research group Tachi Lab, the ifeel_im! proposal seeks to let users express emotions over the internet.

The entire system is a set of clothing worn by the user while interacting online on forums like Second Life. Different gadgets mounted all over activate, depending on the transmitted emotion. HaptiHug for instance is a harness that shrinks slightly to simulate hugs. HaptiButterfly and HaptiTickler go on the abdomen, and are designed to make the wearer fell the butterflies or feel tickled.

On the opposite end of the emotional spectrum are HaptiShiver and HaptiTemper, which induce negative emotions by sending shivers up and down the user's spine. Last but not least, HaptiHeart is a tiny speaker that emits heart pump patterns to create more immersion for the other emotions. A demo is available here.
 
The secret sauce of ifeel_im! is proprietary software that parses written text, attempts to determine associated emotions, and instructs the system to kick in appropriately.

No doubt ifeel_im would find a market if it hits retail. But how creepy is it to let random people online—most probably complete strangers—have relatively free reign over your body? Even if everything is simply a cold computer simulation converted into human-friendly stimuli?

Affective Haptics