This is a hugvie. Give one to your elderly relative and they can hug this instead of you. Is this brilliant innovation and a solution to a chronic problem, or a symptom of society gone bananas? The price quoted in this piece from Khaleej Times is a bargain £37, so would you buy one or several? For your kids? For your parents or grandparents? For you??
Full of life 
A robot to hug is just not the same as a real person. A hug is a simple act that brings comfort to the giver and the receiver. Part of the charm of a hug to me is knowing that although I might have needed it, the person that I am hugging also has a warm fuzzy feeling inside too. Hugging a robot would remove the feeling from the action and therefore it would no longer be needed.
I imagine the argument goes that if people don’t have someone to hug, a robot is better than nothing. Maybe they’re right, but it’s a sad indictment of our society that some of us have no-one to hug! Thanks for your comment, Amaryllis – god to meet you.