Long distance relationships are always tough, and the lack of physical interaction is one of the main reasons for that. There’s no substituting human touch, yet, but rapidly-advancing technology already provides some intriguing alternatives. One such example is the Kissenger, a smartphone peripheral that allows users to kiss over long distances.
异地恋很辛苦，主要原因之一大概是没办法有肉体接触。肉体接触这事应该没什么东西可以代替，虽然过去是这么说，但高速发展的科技竟然连可以替代肉体接触的东西都发明出来了。比如这款名为 Kissenger的智能手机周边产品就是一个典型的例子，你可以通过它与你的爱人进行远距离接吻。
The concept of long-distance kissing has been an intriguing research concept for over half a decade now. Back in 2012, we wrote about the Kissenger, a solution created by Dr. Hooman Samani, Director of AIART Lab (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Technology Laboratory) in Singapore. It consisted of two internet-connected bunny-shaped robots with big silicone lips that could send the touch of human lips between each-other to (sort of) simulate a kiss between two human beings.
五年多来，远距离接吻一直是人们所关注的研究课题，早在2012年，新加坡人工智能和机器人技术实验室（AIART）的科学家胡曼?萨玛尼博士研发过一款名为Kissenger的机器人。它由两个通过互联网连接的兔子形状机器人组成，每个机器人上都有一个很大的硅胶嘴唇，它可以传递人类嘴唇的触感从而模仿出两个人的接吻。
The Kissinger made international news headlines when it was originally revealed, but it never translated into an actual consumer product. However, the idea of transmitting human kisses over long distances remained popular, and, last month, Emma Yann Zhang, a Computer Science PhD student at City University London, presented her own take on the idea, also called the Kissenger.
Kissenger当初被发明出来时登上了世界各国媒体的头条，但它却始终没被转化为能推向消费者的产品。不过，远距离接吻这个理念却一直很受欢迎，终于，在2016年12月的时候，伦敦城市大学的电脑科学博士生——艾玛?雁?张尝试着研发出了一款远距离接吻产品，同样取名为Kissenger。
Derived from the words ‘kiss’ and ‘messenger’, the Kissenger works in a similar way as Dr. Samani’s Kissenger, but features a much more practical design. Instead of a cute robot connected to a computer, the Kissenger takes the shape of a smartphone cover, with a large, oval silicone “lip” at the bottom. All the user has to do is plant a wet one on this silicone pad and built-in high precision force sensors register a user’s lip movements, while miniature linear actuators replicate those movements on a second device used by the person being kissed.
Kissenger是Kiss和Messenger两个词的合成衍生词，它的工作原理与萨玛尼的机器人类似，但在设计上却更具实用价值。张女士不再采用和电脑相连的兔子机器人，取而代之的是底部装有一个椭圆形大硅胶“嘴唇”的智能手机壳。使用者只需要在硅胶“嘴唇”上来个深情一吻，其内置的高精传感器就会记录下这个动作，并通过微型线性致动器在接吻对象手中的Kissenger上复制这个动作。

The Kissenger aims to replicate romantic kisses, but as Emma Yann Zhang says, the device can also be used by parents to give their children a kiss on the cheek when they are away at work. The PhD student presented her invention at the recent Love and Sex with Robots conference, where she said that humans will inevitably become more intimate with A.I. or robots, and being able to share a kiss will play a big part in that kind of relationship.
Kissenger本意是复制恋人间浪漫的吻，但张女士表示，这个装置还可以让父母们在外出工作时在孩子脸上亲一下。张女士在不久前的“与机器人的爱和性”大会上展示了自己的发明，她表示通过分享吻，人类与机器人的关系必将变得更亲密。
Zhang admits that her invention still requires a fair bit of work to create a lifelike kissing experience, but she is already working to improve it. She and her team are working on a way to build scent into the Kissenger, so that users can also get the authentic smell of the person they want to kiss. They also want to record data about blood pressure and heart rate to see if users are affected in the same way that they are by a real kiss.
张女士承认自己的发明还需要更多的调试以达到更逼真的接吻感受，但她已经在着手改进。目前，张女士与自己的团队正在研究如何让Kissenger传输气味，这样用户就可以在接吻的时候闻到爱人真实的气息。他们还打算记录下用户使用产品时的血压和心跳，这样就可以了解这个设备是否能像真实接吻那样让人们心动。
The Kissenger is still a long way from becoming a real consumer product, but the concept of long-distance kissing is definitely evolving.
虽然Kissenger要成为真正的消费品还有很长的一段路要走，不过远距离接吻的理念确实得到了进一步发展。