This VR Startup Lets You ‘Become’ A Teddy Bear To Save Your Long-Distance Relationship

There’s a Japanese word that roughly translates to “spiritual possession” or hyoui. In the case of Japanese startup Adawarp, ‘other things’ refers to teddy bears.

“We are creating a remote control teddy bear. [The user] sees what the bear sees,” said Tatsuki Adaniya, the founder of Adawarp, at the pitching session of Asia Hardware Battle. “So what kind of problem we are trying to solve? We are closing the distance between the people who need to be closer.”

Adawarp’s product, HugmeBear, is a teddy bear that can be controlled remotely over the internet through Adawarp’s VR app and an Xbox controller. By strapping on a VR headset and opening Adawarp’s app, you can see through the bear’s eyes and turn the bear’s head. Twiddling the controller’s joysticks makes the bear wave its arms and give hugs. It’s a little unsettling, especially when you realize that the bear’s eyes are actually two camera modules that are connected to an Arduino, packed inside the bear’s body.

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