We all look for ways to connect to our spouses while they are deployed. The latest technology advances make it easier than ever - we can see his or her face via Skype or Face Time, chat instantly on Facebook, swap e-mails daily and talk on the phone.

But one Scottish inventor is seeking to make long-distance connections even more real.

Joanna Montgomery has developed a device that allows lovers to hear - and feel - the heartbeat of their loved one even when he or she is thousands of miles away.

The device, called Pillow Talk, uses technology similar to that of  heart monitors, which are typically worn by athletes to monitor their heart rate.  A special device is strapped around the chest, which picks up the user's heartbeat. It sends out a signal, which is transmitted wirelessly to a special pillow, which could be nearby or thousands of miles away.When it receives the signal, the pillow begins to glow and beat in time to the heartbeats. Users can even hear the heartbeat by laying their head on the pillow. "The result is an intimate interaction between two lovers, regardless of the distance between them," according to Montgomery's website.

Though not available to the public just yet, Pillow Talk is being developed by Montgomery's Edinburgh-based company, Little Riot, which specializes in products that allow people to interact in a more intimate way than they could via e-mail or Facebook. "Our main focus is creating new ways for people to interact - particularly when these people are in different places. In the ever-growing complexity of today's digital world, human desires are beginning to exceed technology," Montgomery writes on her website, www.littleriot.co.uk.

The product was featured late last year on Gizmodo.com, where it quickly went viral. Funding for the product has been secured, and the company hopes to put Pillow Talk on the market soon.