With Hug, which is the self-proclaimed “first emoji you can feel,” you download the app, hold your phone to your heart to “record a hug,” set your mood — happy, loving, etc. — and send it to another user who could use a squeeze.
Parihug proposes stuffed Internet of Things-enabled plush toys that can hug someone for you. You have one toy and your loved one has its pair. When one bear gets a hug, it triggers a sensor that sends a signal to its partner bear, which then gives the person who’s holding it a pleasant, customizable vibration. And if you’re not around to receive your hug? Parihug will send an alert to an app on your smartphone letting you know it’s waiting. A little more portable is RingU, a ring your wear on your finger that lets you send someone a hugging sensation when you squeeze it, which then sends an alert via your smartphone’s Bluetooth to your partner’s ring.