Japan has built a pregnancy suit that lets people understand what being pregnant actually feels like. The foetus is recreated with a 4-litre bag of water, kicking is imitated by balloon contractions and wiggling is done with some crazy caterpillar motion.
There’s 45 expandable balloons that line the suit and when they expand and contract individually, it means the baby is kicking. To feel the baby wiggle, “a grid of air actuators that exploit a tactile illusion” is required. “When two vibrating sources placed a distance apart move at the same time, it triggers a sensation in between the two points. So by varying vibrating pairs over time, the simulated fetus seems to squirm.” Just watch the video, it’s scary as hell.
Created by Takuya Iwamoto, the pregnancy suit also has touch sensors and an accelerometer so it can react to the “mother’s” movement. The foetus will be in a good mood when things are steady but will quickly grow annoyed if you move around too quickly. The suit can simulate a nine-month pregnancy in just two minutes or be worn day-to-day as practice. I’m so thankful I’m a guy. I love you future baby mama.
Watch the video here: