KDDI revealed the newest concept model, Comi Kuma, a technological teddy bear from the AU Unlimited Future Laboratory to the press, on March 29. This new invention from KDDI following last year's FUMM, a shoe product aimed for young kids to play mobile games, is believed to become a new form of technology allowing for long-distance communication using stamps and advanced technology.

The bear has 12 censors within its body that react to human movements, such as touching the head or hugging the teddy bear's body. When these censors are activated, the teddy bear sends multi-variation stamps to a paired teddy bear. These stamps are sent to the other teddy bear via Bluetooth to any location with WiFi, in which a human action corresponds to the type of stamp being sent. There are 11 versions of bear character stamps in total, each with a short message of greeting or expressing feelings, such as "good morning" and "good night."

Using this new teddy bear and Bluetooth signals allows those without access to or the abilities to use a smartphone, have an opportunity to experience non-verbal communication. This product aims to serve as a communication device between very young children and the elderly, says Yoichi Tsukamoto, KDDI product salesman. The key with the bears is that texting and calling are not included in the product's abilities because the product motto is to allow communication via showing expressions and feelings, not in the form of words or voices.

These intimate teddy bears have already been tested in a town in Akita Prefecture, Gojome Town. Targeted at the elderly and their grandchildren, results have shown increasing interest and usage of the product over the course of 6 days. Although not yet to be announced for public use, the teddy bears intend to relieve and brighten up the day for different age groups through the advancement of modern-day technology, Tsukamoto says.