HANDS-FREE-AUTO-OK/GOOD/GREAT-BYE! MACHINE in progress
This past fall I left Boston, after spending the past 5 years there. To deal with the emotionally and logistically overwhelming task of giving a goodbye hug to all of the acquaintances and friends I have accumulated over this time, I designed the Hands-Free-Auto-OK/GOOD/GREAT-BYE! Machine.
Each person that approaches the machine is presented with the question "what kind of friends were we?" Thy indicate their opinion by turning a dial that ranges from "OK" to "GOOD" to "GREAT". The person then presses the "BYE!" button, triggering the machine to administer an ok/good/great-bye hug. Inflatable arms inflate and rise up around the person, encompassing them in a hug for an amount of time and firmness determined by the OK/GOOD/GREAT dial. At the end of the hug, the arms deflate and fall limply again to the sides of the machine, awaiting the next person.
