Japanese researchers have developed a machine that mimics French kissing, which might help long-distance couples yearning for more than what Skype can offer.

Japanese researchers have developed a machine that mimics French kissing, which might help long-distance couples yearning for more than what Skype can offer.

The "Kiss Transmission Device," demonstrated in the video below, involves hooking up two rotating, straw-like nodules to a computer. When you put one straw in your mouth and start swirling your tongue on it (what a sentence), your tongue's position and movements are sent to a computer program and transmitted to the other straw, which then rotates in the opposite direction. Hopefully that straw is in someone else's mouth.

Nobuhiro Takahashi, a student at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, told DigInfo TV that the machine was based on a system called "bilateral control," which sends and receives reciprocal information from both motor-powered, rotating straws.

"Right now the values are handled by one PC, but if a system is put together to handle the values over a network, then it would be easy for this operation to be conducted remotely," Takahashi said.

Takahashi also said that the team was working on creating other kissing elements like taste, breathing manner, and moistness of the tongue (leave out the halitosis!)

"If we can re-create all of those, I think it will be a really powerful device," he said.

The impact of such device could be profound, likely to help long-distance couples seeking more intimacy than what they'll get through video chatting. Another idea: couple the Kiss Transmission Device with your .

But Takahashi had an even better idea: ask a celebrity to record his or her kiss on the device, and offer it to fans. "It could be hugely popular," he said.