Inventors from the Netherlands, Jasper van Loenen and Bartholomäus Traubeck, have come up with a device that can now turn virtual pokes your friends leave on your Facebook page into pokes that can be physically felt.

The Poking Machine, as the young student inventors call it, is a wearable device that pokes you physically whenever you are poked on Facebook, no matter where you are.

The machine makes use of Bluetooth technology, connected to your smart phone. Every time someone pokes you on the social networking site, the poke is transferred through Bluetooth in the device to the poking machine. The setup consists of a custom-built circuit (ATtiny, servo, battery, and bluetooth module) that connects to an Android phone, letting it keep track of incoming pokes. The circuit is housed in a laser-cut box you can wear on your arm.

Describing why they made it, Jasper and Bartholomäus said: "Online social networks are platforms for communication, enabling us to connect anywhere we go. However, they still lack the mediation of physical communication," according to al-Arabiya.

To find out how exactly the poking machine was built, check the video below.

Making of Poking Machine from grrrreat on Vimeo.

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