Fantasy Bites

In January, AEBN plans to debut a new Web-connected sex toy that comes closer than anything yet to simulating a female partner in the traditional sexual scenario. The mechanics of the device aren't important. What has men drooling is the way it reportedly performs.

Real Touch is based on haptics, or remote tactile communication technologies. The product uses a combination of hardware and software to reproduce physical sensations that mimic sex acts. According to beta testers, the experience is eerily lifelike. AEBN has spent the past year licensing and perfecting the technology and encoding video with hundreds of thousands of electronic cues that will allow viewers in its online theaters to plug in, turn on ... and get off in a whole new way.

Haptics are nothing new, and AEBN isn't the only adult company that has been experimenting with them. Theoretical haptic applications have populated science fiction for decades, and AVN Online has been covering the concept as it relates to sexuality since at least 2000. Rumors of the existence of a sort of holy grail for the adult industry - technology that can so closely approximate honest-to-goodness oral, anal, and vaginal sex as to make in-person physical relationships almost redundant - have been persistent, but the reality seemed to remain just out of reach.

Not anymore.

Boys want toys, too

Sex toys for women are legion. Partly, that's because women's bodies are easier design targets. Without going into graphic detail, suffice it to say that penis stand-ins occur in nature (cucumbers, anyone?), so the dildo was hardly a technological leap. Vibrators represented a big step forward when the first steam-powered model appeared in 1869 as a medical device used to treat "hysteria" in women. Scientists and inventors never looked back, and today vibes come in a dizzying assortment of sizes, colors, materials, and capabilities.

Although vibrators and dildos can be fun for boys, too, because of physiological differences between male and female anatomies, the experience isn't the same. Men need a different sort of physical stimulation. Undoubtedly there was great rejoicing when the first mechanical penis pump debuted in 1911, but the celebration was short-lived because the device proved uncomfortable and difficult to use. A much better model arrived in 1959, but even it couldn't replace the soft, moist warmth of a willing sexual partner. Even today, most men prefer to take matters into their own hands rather than to hook themselves up to an artificial vagina. Blow-up sex dolls (reportedly invented by the Nazis during World War II) were fun for a while, but their novelty wore off quickly - not least because they seemed so impersonal, and despite their protestations to the contrary, men seem to crave real human contact during sex.

German aircraft mechanic Michael Harriman thought he was on the right track in 2005 when he developed Andy, a sort of sex android that not only included silicone "skin" and internal heaters to warm all the right parts, but also seemed to breathe and simulated a faster heartbeat during intercourse. The sex-bots briefly sold for about $7,000, but since seem to have disappeared in a cloud of creative frustration when Harriman reached an impasse in his efforts to make them "better than the real thing."

The truth is out there

And so the search for men's solo sexual nirvana continues. In his book Love and Sex with Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships (Harper, 2007), artificial intelligence guru David Levy explores human psychology and physiology alongside technology's inexorable march and predicts "love[making] with robots will be as normal as love with other humans" by the end of the 21^st Century. The current generation of research robots already can exhibit at least 77 human behavior patterns, he notes, so creating the perfect faux-human sex slave is really only a matter of fine-tuning.

That's little comfort to contemporary slut puppies who want their dreams to come true today. According to one scientist working at the intersection of sexuality and technology, the emotive aspect of artificial sex remains at a distance, but if all a guy wants is to get off, he can do that in some amazingly realistic ways right now.

Eric J. White, chief scientist and chief executive officer at Virtual Reality Innovations Inc., has been marketing the Virtual Sex Machine since 2000. In essence, the computer-enabled device is a penis pump on steroids. The component parts include a silicon-skin sleeve that vibrates, rubs, and otherwise manipulates the penis and a software interface that reads and translates haptic cues embedded in videos into mechanical action that simulates oral and vaginal activities occurring on-screen. It's a hands-free helping hand, so to speak. White developed the VSM primarily as a medical device to assist men with spinal injuries or crippling diseases like multiple sclerosis, but it has a growing number of perfectly able fans who enjoy its sex-toy value. A gay version is expected during the first quarter of 2009. "It includes an additional haptic interface [penile sleeve] and videos designed specifically for gay men's pleasure," White said. The next hetero incarnation of the VSM, currently on the drawing board, will be "a two-way device that ‘reads' live performers' actions and allows cam girls to control the device remotely," he added.

The product could be a boon to the adult entertainment industry, White predicted, because it's aimed at men - the primary consumers of pornography - and makes virtual sex "more real." Some porn purveyors already have incorporated the VSM into their product offerings, and sales are as brisk as VRI can handle. The company is at maximum manufacturing capacity now, but plans to open a new U.S. factory next year and ramp up production significantly. When the live-cam model debuts, White expects it to provide a kick-start to flagging adult entertainment revenues brought about by an unfortunate confluence of increased competition among adult content producers and declining disposable income among consumers. He foresees benefit for live cam-site operators in the form of increased per-minute charges for VSM-enabled content as well as affiliate revenues from sales of the projected $400-plus-per-unit machines.

"Imagine being able to feel like you're actually having sex with this girl halfway around the world that you've developed a virtual relationship with," he said. "You can see her, and you'll be able to feel every move she makes. We're very, very close to that."

A "real" experience, hands down

Attorney Gregory Piccionelli, who claims to have assisted the developers of 90 to 95 percent of the haptic patents that could be relevant to the adult entertainment industry, said he believes "remote tactile communication could be the iPod of the adult industry." The problem with any whiz-bang technology, though, is that some developers rush their products to market half-baked, with the disappointing result that they become "just another blow-up doll." Because of less than stellar experiences with a succession of Internet-enabled sex toys in the past, both sex entrepreneurs and consumers are leery of investing in new equipment that breaks easily or doesn't deliver the over-hyped experience pledged in marketing messages. The current generation of high-end haptic devices, however, shows promise.

Piccionelli said he was a beta tester of AEBN's Real Touch, and the experience is (ahem) "mind-blowing." The synchronization of voice, video, and haptics is unbelievably detailed, he said, giving the user the impression of "actually being engaged in the act."

According to Jim "GonZo" McAnally, AEBN's marketing and communications director, the device is very nearly rocket science. "It was developed by a NASA engineer," he said. "To keep this easy, the device simply plays touch. I don't mean just a stroke-you-up-and-down sex toy; I'm talking explicit details. The user feels every single specific movement in a blowjob or sex act - so detailed that it takes about eight hours to program 20 minutes of footage because we go frame by frame to get every meticulous gesture.

"This is true virtual sex," he added. "Real Touch will make any other [video-on-demand] system obsolete, because the user will be missing half the experience."

McAnally said Real Touch, which works best with point-of-view videos in both gay and straight categories, has created something of a stir among adult studios because "it's the first real haptic device for men designed to recreate a real sexual experience. It's also the first sex toy ever with a residual income." The product will be demonstrated at AVN's Adult Entertainment Expo in January and will go live in a dedicated area of AEBN's online theaters at about the same time. AEBN vice president of sales and marketing Jerry Anders said the company sees the product as a revenue booster not only for studios whose bottom lines have been affected by the proliferation of tube sites and pirated content online, but also for affiliates who can market the product to their users as the next wave in sexual gratification.

"This device and sexual experience cannot be downloaded from any illegal site, so it gives us all a new moneymaking avenue to pursue," he noted. "Simply watching porn will become a thing of the past for many people once they realize they can experience the feeling of sex with their favorite stars."

Better, stronger, faster

As good as the VSM and Real Touch are reported to be, more spectacular technologies that are on the horizon may blur the boundaries between "real" and "simulated" even further. One that shows exceptional promise for the near future is a type of brain interface that could internalize the sexual experience, possibly negating the need for visual stimuli altogether.

Earlier this year tech start-up Emotiv Systems demonstrated a helmet-like device that allows video-gamers to control their avatars with their thoughts. The Emotiv interface reads brain activity via receptors judiciously placed along its inner surface. Related software helps users "teach" the gadget how to associate thought patterns with commands. The blog Kotaku, which got an early look at the device, said it allowed users to push or pull objects by willing them to move and scare away other characters with a grimace.

"Mind control is a really great thing, and I think we're going to see it sooner rather than later," White said. "The technology is here, although it's in its infancy. All we need to do is perfect the interface. The latest incarnation I've seen picks up input from 16 different channels in the brain."

Kevin "Stroker Serpentine" Alderman, the founder and chief executive of Eros LLC, is particularly excited about the intersection of haptics, brain interfaces, and virtual worlds. The master of a large, sexually active community in Second Life, Alerman's new project is an adult-specific virtual world he describes as "a hedonistic, futuristic tropical paradise - a salacious Monte Carlo; ‘the bedroom of the metaverse.'" Called Eros 3D and scheduled to debut publicly in 2009, the platform already incorporates interfaces for high-end sex toys like the sound-activated products offered by OhMiBod and Lelo. Alderman and his crew are eyeing (hungrily, one might add) other haptic technologies, brain interfaces, and holographic digital systems they feel will come closer than anything yet to combining virtual and real experiences. Within four to five years, they expect full-body haptic suits to be affordable and portable enough to become essential equipment for tech-savvy consumers.

"There are virtually unlimited applications for these technologies, not only in the adult industry but also for the disabled," he posited. "I'm literally betting my house on avatars becoming not only natural extensions that allow us to off-load our fantasies and daily tasks onto a stand-in, but also become our pervy proxies."

Reality's ugly head

As exciting as the sexual potential of robots, haptics, and holograms can be, Piccionelli said the legal landscape surrounding the technologies may be even more intriguing. "I fully expect a rash of negative potshots from the peanut gallery," he noted. "In all honesty, there is a Supreme Court connection here: ‘Distance prostitution' may become an issue."

Distance prostitution? The term evokes the notion of an entirely different kind of remote control. According to Piccionelli, "remote sexual stimulation is conduct. The feds conceivably could attempt to classify virtual sex where money changes hands - even if there's no actual physical contact - as interstate prostitution. As these technologies become more popular, we'll probably see some cases."

However, he doesn't envision the specter of prosecution slowing down product development or user uptake. "Plain content rapidly is becoming a thing of the past," he noted, not only because profit margins are slimmer than they once were, but also because consumers are notoriously fickle and "future-minded." After a five-years-long period of virtual stagnation in adult tech development, end-users - who have shorter attention spans with each generation - are becoming restless. Haptics, in particular, represent potential for an across-the-board sexual revolution.

"Imagine the possibilities for virtual blowjobs in strip clubs," he suggested. "Every guy is issued a discreet haptic sleeve when he walks in, and as the girl is onstage felating a dildo...." Well, you get the idea.

"Live interactivity of that magnitude has nearly unlimited potential," he said. "Even online, it's the future because it's not subject to piracy."

Alderman agreed. "This is a natural transition," he said. "What we're going to see is the computer becoming the conduit for all experiences and content. Avatars will be virtually indistinguishable from flesh. Haptics won't be options - they'll be required. Things we can't even imagine now will be on the drawing board."

 Piccionelli added, "These technologies need to become part of the culture of porn. It won't happen overnight, because people will have to reorient their masturbatory fantasies. But it will happen."