Chinese students have developed a $40 set of lips that couples can use for 'long-distance kissing'

• A remote kissing device, complete with a pair of 3D lips, is on sale in China for about $40.
• It appears to mimic the pressure, movement and heat of a partner's lips, the SCMP reported.

Students at a university in China are trying to promote monogamous kissing between long-distance couples — by developing a contraption that mimics the gesture of kissing a partner's lips.

The silicon device, complete with a set of 3D lips, is meant to imitate the pressure, movement, and heat of a partner's lips, the South China Morning Post reported Friday.

The device, which is being sold on the Chinese online retail platform Taobao as a "long-distance lovers miracle kissing device," costs 260 Chinese yuan, or about $38, for one individual set of lips and about $79 for a pair. About 100 pieces are sold every month, SCMP reported.

The contraption needs to be paired with a mobile app, which connects the user with their partner to enjoy a virtual kiss, the SCMP wrote, citing Chinese media outlet Sichuan Guancha.

The device was created and patented by students of Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology, a university in eastern China, per the local media outlet The Global Times.

Jiang Zhongli, the lead inventor of the design, told state-run media Global Times that he was in a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend at university, and could only stay in touch with her by phone. "That's where the inspiration of this device originated," Jiang, who has since graduated from the university, told the media outlet.

Since the instrument can only pair one sender and one receiver at any point, it could also promote monogamous relationships, he said, per the SCMP. Both users also need to give their consent before using it.

The gadget is similar to the "Kissinger," a Malaysian invention that had a similar function, but came with a touch-sensitive silicon pad instead of 3D lips, per CNN.

People on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, had a mixed response to the new kissing contraption.

"This society is full of amazing and mystical things," said one comment.

Others seemed less impressed — one person felt this is "awkward," and another questioned "isn't that just kissing plastic?"

Representatives of Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.