每日英語跟讀 Ep.K558: Chinese Start-up Launches Long-Distance Kissing Machine for Remote Lovers
Beijing-based Siweifushe has released the MUA, a long-distance kissing machine that collects and transmits users' kiss data through motion sensors hidden in silicon lips. The kissing machine captures and replays sound, and slightly warms up during kissing, giving users a more authentic experience. The MUA, named after the sound people commonly make when blowing a kiss, also enables users to download kissing data submitted via an accompanying app by other users.
總部位於北京的思維輻射公司推出了名為可能吻（MUA）的遠距離接吻神器，該機器透過隱藏在矽膠嘴唇的動作感應器收集並傳輸用戶的接吻數據。接吻神器還可以捕捉和重現聲音，在接吻過程中輕微加熱，讓使用者體驗更加真實。可能吻以人們接吻時的聲音來命名，還可以讓使用者下載其他用戶通過專屬應用程式上傳的接吻數據。
The MUA was inspired by China's frequent and lengthy lockdown measures during the three-year COVID-19 pandemic, which limited physical contact. Siweifushe's inventor, Zhao Jianbo, who was in a relationship during the lockdown, focused his graduate project at the Beijing Film Academy on the lack of physical intimacy in video calls. The product was launched on Jan. 22 and has been priced at around 260 yuan ($38).
這個產品的靈感來自於中國在 COVID-19 疫情的三年間頻繁、長期且廣泛實施的封鎖措施，這些措施限制了人與人的身體接觸。思維輻射的發明者趙建波（Zhao Jianbo，音譯）在封鎖期間與一位女友交往，他在北京電影學院的畢業製作項目中專注於探討在視訊通話中缺乏身體親密接觸的問題。該產品於1月22日推出，定價約為260元人民幣（約38美元）。
Within two weeks of its release, the firm had sold over 3,000 kissing machines and received about 20,000 orders. To use the device, lovers must download an app onto their smartphones and pair their kissing machines, which they plug into the phone charging port. The device is available in several colors, but with the same unisex lips.
在發行的兩週內，該公司已經售出了超過3,000台接吻神器並收到了約20,000份訂單。情侶們必須將接吻神器插入手機的充電口並下載應用程式，才能使用該設備。親吻神器提供多種嘴唇顏色，但唇型是採中性的設計。
Some users have said that the device was intriguing, but others said it made them feel uncomfortable. The lack of tongue was a top complaint, and some commentators on social media site Weibo also expressed concern that the device could be used for online erotic content, which is strictly regulated in China. However, Zhao said his company complies with regulations, and there is little they can do about how people use the device.
一些用戶表示該設備很有趣，但也有人表示該設備讓他們感到不舒服。最多人抱怨的點是缺少舌頭，社交媒體微博上的一些評論者也擔心該設備可能被用於網路色情內容，而這在中國是嚴格受到監管的。然而，趙建波表示他的公司符合監管要求，他們對人們如何使用該設備沒有太多控制力。
The MUA is not the first remote kissing device. Researchers at Tokyo's University of Electro-Communications invented a "kiss transmission machine" in 2011, and Malaysia's Imagineering Institute made a similar gadget called the "Kissinger" in 2016. Siweifushe's kissing machine offers an innovative way for couples to stay connected during periods of physical separation.
可能吻不是第一個遠距接吻設備，東京電気通信大學的研究人員在2011年發明了「親吻傳輸機」，馬來西亞的 Imagineering 研究所在2016年製作了一個名為「Kissinger」的類似裝置。思維輻射的親吻神器提供了一種創新的方式，讓分隔兩地的情侶能保持聯繫。Reference article: https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinese-firm-invents-lockdown-inspired-kissing-machine-remote-lovers-2023-03-23/