Sex researchers gathered here say artifical sex partners catering to a person’s fantasies could be a reality in the near future.
Carl DiSalvo, a doctoral candidate at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, told Reuters that he sees a future where sex robots could become commonplace.
“That hardly seems to be difficult,” said DiSalvo, referring to the creation of an artificial sex partner.
Already, DiSalvo has helped design a robotic device that simulates the feeling of a hug.
Likewise, realdoll.com, company that makes lifelike human sex dolls without electronics, is also pushing the envelope with its realistic dolls that sell for $6,000 and over.
But such dolls are just the beginning. Julia Heiman, director of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction at Indiana University at Bloomington, said multi-sensual virtual sex devices will be common by 2016.
Today, the field of teledildonics is leading the way toward that future with its current technology that allows people to use their computers to manipulate each other’s electronic devices such as a vibrator.
Sinulate Entertainment, which makes the Internet-connected devices, has been a leader in the technology since it began in 2003. Its president, Steve Rhodes, says he sees such devices gaining wide acceptance.
Sex columnist for Wired magazine, Regina Lynn, agreed, saying people need not fear these devices because they are a natural extension of sex toys.
Brad Abram, president of XStream3D Multimedia, maker of the Virtual Jenna online game, says his business has continued to grow thanks to the game.
His service, which costs $29.95 a month, is accessed by thousands of people daily.