Why She’s Interesting: At the 36-hour MHacks hacking competition in 2015, the Case Western Reserve University student created a prototype for Parihug, a bear stuffed with wireless and Bluetooth technology to convey hugs over long distances. While Foxlin didn’t win, the invention garnered enough attention to become a startup. Paired as a matching set, when one person hugs their bear, its furry counterpart receives a message and gently vibrates in real time.
Good Vibes: Hugs release oxytocin, a hormone linked to social bonding. “If I stole your childhood teddy bear, you wouldn’t be heartbroken but you would feel a twang of sadness because you spent so long hugging it as a child. Because mom’s or dad’s bear is identical to the child’s, when dad gives his bear a hug, I feel that hug. The oxytocin gets associated with dad rather than just the bear.”
Close Call: Her childhood stuffed polar bear, Snowball, always has a home in Foxlin’s bed. But when she put eight of her old stuffed toys on display at an electronics show in Las Vegas, the entrepreneur almost lost her large, lifelong companion. “They were all stolen, which was heartbreaking. I found Snowball under a table. Luckily Snowball was beat up enough that nobody took him.”
Crowing Glory: In 2016, Foxlin returned to MHacks with a new project — and this time, she won. Her prototype was a dress designed with individually programmable LEDs that transformed into a specific Disney Princess dress — from Ariel to Sleeping Beauty — when that princess’ theme was sung. “If I wasn’t sleep deprived, I would have done it differently. It was really dangerous the way we hooked up the LEDs and put them on a human. Basically, it turned me into a gigantic electromagnet.”
Brilliant Beauty: Foxlin and her classmate recently launched a science, technology, engineering and math education YouTube channel, Beauty and the Bolt, which aims to empower women and minorities to excel in engineering. “My big thing is that femininity and engineering are not mutually exclusive. I’m still the only one in a dress at design reviews or the only one wearing all pink in the shop. We should be teaching our girls that it’s OK to like princesses and power tools.”
Genetic Code: She’s not the only engineer in the family. Her dad started the virtual reality company Intersense in the ’90s. “He started a company the day I was born. The venture capital associates couldn’t wait a day, so the lawyers, associates and founders all met in the hospital.”
Most Interesting People 2017: Xyla Foxlin
The Case Western Reserve University student makes long-distance relationships more meaningful with her Parihug stuffed bears.
