Hug Over a Distance, via your koala

Hugshirt on the fritz? Prefer koalas to
chickens? There are now so many gadgets to enable
remote hugging that we start to wonder about life above ground (we may have to break out the periscope here at the Engadget HQ underground bunker just to make sure people are actually still meeting face to face). We're not sure why he didn't just go all out and use a Teletubby like you know he wanted to, but Florian Muller has developed Hug Over a Distance that sends a hug signal to your partner(s)
in distant lands when you rub this koala's belly. You partner dons a "normal-looking" (yeah, sure) vest whose small air compartments inflate upon receiving the love. We have nothing against spreading love here at Engadget, yet we still must ask, "but why?"