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• Engineers at Japan's Gifu University have developed a robotic device that re-creates the experience of holding another person's hand -- without the other person.
"My Girlfriend in Walk" attaches to the user's forearm, and the metal hand is covered with a soft, gel material that simulates human skin, even allowing custom fragrances to be added to the artificial sweat.
A heater provides warmth and a pressure sensor duplicates the strength of the wearer's grip, according to Oddity Central.
An accompanying smartphone app can emit sounds including footsteps, breathing and the sound of clothes rubbing against skin. [Oddity Central, 11/5/2020]
• In September, police in Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Republic, where a 9 p.m. curfew has been imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, came upon a man pulling a toy plush dog behind him late at night in the town's center, Idnes.cz reported.
"I'm walking a dog here. I'm not doing anything illegal here," the man told officers.
Walking a dog is permitted after curfew, but the police gave him a warning and sent him and his "pet" on their way. [Idnes.cz, 10/30/2020]