3D-printed invention sends sensations within the virtual world.

A new technology called Skinterface allows people to touch in the virtual realm, which could add a new dimension to remote sex.

Skinterface is a system of magnet-based nodes attached to a set of gloves or a full body suit. The nodes put pressure on the body as they receive electronic signals, creating a sense of feeling.

A computer tracks the nodes on a 3D map and controls the sensations. Each node is independent and can apply different types of feelings, so the technology can create all sorts of experiences.

It only works in one direction at the moment, but an extension could allow two people using Skinterface to virtually touch each other at the same time, for virtual cuddling, kissing, or sex.

A library of Skinterface experiences

Four Masters students at the Royal College of Art in London—Andre McQueen, Charlotte Furet, George Wright, and Ka Hei Suen—developed the technology as part of their final year project.

They suggest people could build “libraries” of predesigned virtual experiences.

For example, a predesigned program based on sex could set up fully immersive virtual reality pornography, where users experience the sensations of sex as well as the sights and sounds in virtual reality.

The actual Skinterface nodes are created at research university Imperial College London.

Image source: Charlotte Furet

The post Long-distance Loving Could Feel Real with Skinterface Touch Technology appeared first on Future of Sex.

Famed inventor shares future forecasts, claiming past accuracy rate of 86%.

Futurist Ray Kurzweil has explained his sex predictions in a wide-ranging interview with Playboy magazine, covering remote touching, alternative bodies, cyborgs, robots, and new ethical issues about sex.

Kurzweil, the director of engineering at Google and inventor of the famous Kurzweil-brand musical synthesizer, spent two days with interviewer David Hochman, discussing several possibilities for the future of sex.

Haptic technology and different bodies

One of Kurzweil’s sex predictions was about haptic technology, which would allow people to cuddle, kiss, or sexually pleasure each other from a distance.

Award-winning researcher Dr. Adrian Cheok described this new wave of haptic technology as the “huggable Internet,” and by Kurzweil’s reckoning, it could be ready by the 2030s.

Kurzweil also predicted people would be able to look different, or even feel different, during sex.

He suggested lovers could become more idealized versions of themselves—or become different people entirely. They could even become each other, experiencing the relationship from their partner’s point of view.

People already transform themselves into avatars on virtual sex platforms, but haptic technology could make this even more realistic.

It might seem strange that lovers would want their partner to become somebody else, but according to Kurzweil, this will become more acceptable in the future.

Kurzweil pointed out that more ethical issues exist around sex than ever before, thanks to pornography, sexting, cheating websites, and other things enabled by new technology. Some people might find it scandalous or upsetting that somebody would want their partner to look different, but others would probably see it as a new frontier for enjoyable sex.

When asked, Kurzweil said if he could choose to transform into another form for sex, he would transform into actress Amy Adams.

“I like the perky way she uses her body,” he said.

Imagining new forms of sex

Kurzweil also predicted that humans would merge with technology, which could open up further possibilities for sex.

“We’re already on that path. I mean, this little Android phone I’m carrying on my belt is not yet inside my physical body, but that’s an arbitrary distinction. It is part of who I am—not necessarily the phone itself, but the connection to the cloud and all the resources I can access there,” he said.

A second skin could help with haptic technology for remote touching while computer implants could allow people to control their sexual responses and experience on-demand orgasms.

A synthetic neocortex, basically a second brain, which Kurzweil thinks is inevitable, would allow people to imagine new forms of sex that are beyond human comprehension at the moment.

People could imagine new methods of having sex, new bodies for having sex, and new perspectives on love and relationships.

Sex robots and artificial consciousness

Sex robots are another hot topic among futurists, especially as they become more realistic.

Kurzweil remains confident that 2029 will be the year robots become indistinguishable from humans.

This could lead to even more ethical issues about sex robots, which are already triggering a backlash from some people, even though most futurists do not see a problem with them.

Self-aware sex robots might not want to provide sex on demand. They might want to be seduced. They might want their own sexual desires satisfied.

“As we get to the 2030s, artificial consciousness will be very realistic…We will believe it, and they’ll get angry at us if we don’t believe them,” said Kurzweil.

Are sex predictions always right?

While Kurzweil told Playboy his sex predictions will not necessarily come true, he backed in his impressive record as a futurist.

Nearly 20 years ago, Kurzweil made 147 predictions in his book The Age of Spiritual Machines. About 125 came true in the right timeframe. Others, such as self-driving cars, look set to come true in the near future. His biggest prediction is that computers will “outthink” human brains in about 2045, allowing people to live forever in an evolutionary shift he calls “the Singularity.”

Kurzweil also backed sex technology as leading the way.

He pointed out the first printing presses spent a lot of time working on “prurient” titles—early pornographic texts. Sex was also an early selling point for films, home videos, the internet, apps, virtual platforms such as Second Life, and now virtual reality headsets.

If you pay attention to the future of sex (and why wouldn’t you?), then according to Ray Kurzweil’s sex predictions, you could be getting the first glimpses of the future of the human race.

Image Sources: null0, Dabi News, DS Doll

The post Ray Kurzweil’s Sex Predictions: Remote Touching, Body Swapping, and More appeared first on Future of Sex.

Do you have what it takes to turn on SAMM-69?

New computer game Erotica Robotica challenges two players to work together to sexually pleasure a robot.

The game, which you can download from itch.io, is basically a cooperative puzzle game, except the end goal involves pleasuring a genderless, sexually curious robot called SAMM-69.The robot lies on a bed under a pink leopard-print blanket as players try to solve complex puzzles based on its mechanical anatomy.

Play the game here:

A puzzle game with a sexy twist

To play the game, one player downloads the robot’s user manual and, without looking at the game in progress, reads out instructions to the second player.

The second player must understand these instructions and use them to solve a series of puzzles. Because the first player cannot see the screen, the second player must explain what the puzzles look like and how they are progressing.

A false move can cause SAMM-69 to cry out in pain. The relationship between the two players can also become sore if miscommunications leads to mistakes.

Erotica Robotica took just three weeks to develop. The developers are Bria Smith, Olivia Mignone, Noah Salaway, and Erik Miller.

Image source: TeamBONE

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Lovers can stimulate each other from different continents.

Sex toy company Lovense has developed another vibrating device that users can control across vast distances via a smartphone app.

Hush, a butt plug, is a sister product to Lovense’s bullet vibrator, Lush. The company secured financial support for Hush using the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.

The campaign raised about five times its original target of $10,000, even with about a week to go.

Lovense developed the first renderings of Hush in January 2015 and released the first public images in April 2015, although the Indiegogo campaign did not start until March 2016.

“Unlike most IndieGogo product launches, we have fully tested these products,” says the campaign description.

“We are not looking for money to complete this project… we are looking for early bird users to give general feedback (like comparisons to the other plugs you’ve tried) and suggestions for the app.”

No limits on long distance

Hush users can control the toy from any distance as long as each user has an Apple phone, the app, and a reliable internet connection, says Lovense.

The same app controls Hush and Lush, which both work via Bluetooth across short distances as well.

The app runs in the background of a smartphone so users don’t have to keep their hands on the phone while the toys vibrate.

The waterproof, silicone Hush comes in two sizes and has enough battery power for one or two hours of continuous use. Other features include an option for sound-activated use and a built-in encrypted messaging tool as part of the app.

In addition to the long distance toys Hush and Lush, the latter of which can also be controlled by Apple Watch, Lovense’s interactive male and female sex toys, Max and Nora, are compatible with adult VR videos available at VirtualRealPorn [NSFW].

Image source: Lovense

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Sex apps need a rethink, says former Fleshbot CEO.

A prominent sex tech writer has cautioned developers to stop creating sex apps for the sake of it and focus more on solving specific problems.

Lux Alptraum, a sex educator, comedian, and former CEO of Fleshbot, wrote a 1500-word article on Fusion arguing some companies were merely exploiting the current craze for apps, losing sight of their main purpose: to improve people’s love lives.

Apps for everything

Many sex apps have emerged over the past few years.

Some apps, such as Spreadsheets and Lovely, produce statistics about people’s love lives. Others work in conjunction with sex toys, such as OhMiBod’s BlueMotion.

Alptraum’s article focuses on REMOJI, a proposed app that has taken off on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo. Financial support for REMOJI has exceeded more than 10 times its original target of $10,000.

REMOJI promises to be a fun and sexy way of controlling sex toys remotely, with users handing over control of their sex lives to the app’s yellow, coconut-shaped avatar.

Alptraum, however, does not see the appeal.

She says just because “people like sex, and people like apps” doesn’t mean everybody will like the two together at every opportunity.

Just because you can bring apps into the bedroom doesn’t mean you should—if they’re not necessary.

The right sex tech for you

Alptraum admits there is a level of “tech/sex panic” behind suggestions that apps could ruin a person’s love life.

But she says the sex tech industry might need to rethink the way it combines sex and smartphones.

“It is one thing to mediate intimacy through technology when it’s the best available option: when we’re miles away from the object of our affection, for instance, or when some technological assistance is required to achieve (or enhance) sexual pleasure or orgasm,” she says.

“But to insert high-tech flourishes into sex just because we can misses the point—and the promise—of innovative, technologically enhanced sexual experiences.”

In the end, it might just be a matter of finding the technology for the right user. Sex apps might be great for some people, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessary for everybody.

Image Sources: bohed, Miriam Joyce

The post How Can Smartphone-Based Sex Apps Beat the Hype? appeared first on Future of Sex.

Will stars sue to stop their robotic doubles from going on sale?

A Scarlett Johansson robot, based on 3D-printing technology, could be the first step toward owning a realistic replica of your celebrity crush.

Hong Kong graphic designer Ricky Ma spent about $50,000 and 18 months creating his lifelike Mark 1 robot.

Ma told news outlets that he’d based the robot on a particular Hollywood star, although he wouldn’t reveal her name.

But people quickly identified it as Scarlett Johansson, the 31-year-old star of Her, The Avengers, and Lucy, and the only celebrity to be twice named “Sexiest Woman Alive” by Esquire magazine.

Technically impressive

The Mark 1, the robotic Scarlett, has a silicone skin stretched over its 3D-printed skeleton. It can perform detailed facial expressions and respond to spoken phrases.

If a person compliments it, the robot bows, smiles, giggles, and says thank you.

Ma hopes to sell his first robot and use the funds to build more. He also wants to write a book to inspire other developers.

A Scarlett Johansson robot? No, just a robot

The significance of Ma’s robot isn’t just the technical achievement, but the idea of a celebrity crush replica. A market could even exist for celebrity sex robots.

Celebrity blowup sex dolls have existed for years, although certain “originals” have stopped them. Miley Cyrus famously threatened to sue over a blowup doll. Kim Kardashian launched a similar lawsuit in 2010.

Perhaps that’s why Ricky Ma refused to identify the Mark 1 as an imitation of Scarlett Johansson.

If Johansson could prove it was based on her, she could sue Ma for exploiting her “personality rights.”

Legal rights versus robots

The legal concept of personality rights, or publicity rights, applies in a range of countries including the U.S., Canada, China, South Africa, and Australia.

The definition varies between countries and is rarely clear cut, but fundamentally, personality rights mean that a person’s recognizable attributes can’t be exploited for a commercial purpose unless they give permission.

If Ricky Ma or anybody else tried to sell a “Scarlett Johansson robot” in the U.S., the actress could take them to court, arguing (probably successfully) they were exploiting her personality without permission to sell the robot.

Furthermore, most courts don’t limit personality rights to somebody’s name. Anything that identifies the person could apply, including their looks.

Ma might have refused to reveal the inspiration for his robot, but if the likeness is identifiably Scarlett Johansson—as it seems to be, judging by the media reaction—then personality rights could put an end to any attempt to sell the robot in the U.S.

Of course, if Johansson or any other celebrity gave approval for a robot replica, nothing could stop people getting their hands on a copy of their celebrity crush.

Laws a bigger deal for robots than dolls

If a celebrity decided to sue, they might have a better case against a robot than, for example, a blowup sex doll.

If somebody built an unauthorized celebrity robot but didn’t explicitly name it, or perhaps named it just “Scarlet” rather than “Scarlett Johansson,” the legal key would be whether the robot’s appearance were identifiable as the celebrity.

Producers of a basic sex doll, identifiable mostly by hair color and body shape, could claim the resemblance was coincidental. The “Kim” doll manufacturers tried to do this, although their greatest problem was probably their doll’s “biography,” which suspiciously reflected Kim Kardashian’s life.

For most new robots, however, the standard of success is whether they’re realistic or not.

A more realistic robot would probably be more identifiable and therefore more likely to be blocked in court. To avoid a lawsuit, a celebrity robot replica would have to be obviously different from the original person, defeating the whole purpose.

Will Scarlett see red?

Johansson has previously demonstrated an appetite for litigation.

In 2015, she filed a lawsuit over a French novel called The First Thing You See. The book involves a Johansson lookalike who visits a mechanic called Arthur Dreyfuss. Arthur initially thinks the woman is the real Scarlett and treats her like that.

Johansson claimed the novel “exploited” her name, reputation, and image, as well as featured defamatory content. The judge agreed parts were defamatory—but dismissed the claims based on personality rights.

The publishers removed the defamatory parts from the book, but could still seek to translate it or even adapt it into a film.

Other celebrities might be less tempted to sue, even over a robot copy. It’s easy to imagine adult entertainers, for example, investing in robot replicas to be sold for sexual purposes.

A Scarlett Johansson robot could run into legal trouble if it flirts with commercial production, but the broader potential for celebrity crush replicas is still wide open.

Image sources: Goldene Kamera, Insider, Luke Ford

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