Sex Tech Crowdfunding Trends Up with ‘Bionic’ Strap-On Dildo

By Jenna Owsianik, Editor-in-Chief of FutureofSex.net

June 24, 2014

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Another adult enterprise taps money from the masses to innovate.

“Massage it, suck on it, have sex with it. Get creative.”

These are the words used to describe how to play with the Ambrosia Vibe, a strap-on dildo that gives pleasure to both the wearer and the person traditionally viewed as the “receiver.”

This month, Orgasmatronics, Inc. kicked off an Indiegogo campaign asking for $32,000 in order to manufacture the wearable sex technology. It achieved this goal in nine days and has until July 17 to meet its stretch goals of $150,000 and $200,000. While the campaign still runs, people can buy the Ambrosia Vibe for $149.

What makes this strap-on dildo so special, according to the company, is how it responds to pressure the way a real sex organ would.

Located along the underside of the dildo, a “vein” senses the pressure of sexual motions and sends it to a control box. This information is measured and turned into vibrations via a bullet vibe in the base of the silicone penis.

With the help of a harness, the bottom is pressed against the wearer’s clitoris, allowing her to enjoy the buzzing sensations.

This is certainly not Orgasmatronics, Inc.'s first foray into teledildonics. It also sells a $20 kit for hacking and programming vibrators, which is something we'd hope to expect from a company whose motto is “less pants, more science.”

It's also clearly not the first adult technology company to resort to crowdfunding for support, and with great success! Earlier this month, OhMiBod nearly doubled its initial target of $20,000 for its remote vibrator blueMotion.

Last year, Vibease, a wearable vibrator that pulsates along to erotic audio stories, raked in $115,000 more than its humble $15,000 aim.

One explanation is conventional investors tend to steer clear of sex products, pushing adult entertainment innovators to find other types of funding.

Pairing this trend with the terrific crowdfunding outcomes for several sex tech companies, many more online campaigns are surely to come.

Image source: Orgasmatronics, Inc.

Jenna Owsianik

Jenna Owsianik is a Canadian journalist and sex tech expert. Since 2014 she has been Editor-in-Chief of FutureofSex.net, the world’s leading publication on how technology is changing human sexuality, today and tomorrow.

Jenna is the primary author of the Future of Sex Report (2016).

Her expertise covers state-of-the-art sex technologies and the major fields driving innovations in intimacy: robotics, virtual reality, remote sex (teledildonics), immersive adult entertainment, human augmentation, virtual sex, and sexual health.

A trained journalist with a Masters of Journalism from The University of British Columbia, Jenna’s reporting has appeared on Futurism.com, Al Jazeera English, CTV British Columbia online, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS 60 Minutes, Global News, and CKNW Radio in Canada and the United States.

As a sex tech industry consultant, she is especially passionate about helping companies deliver accessible services and products to people with disabilities and other underserved communities.

Jenna also runs the sites SexforEveryBody.com, a sex-positive, body-positive online magazine that promotes inclusive sex education; and DisabledSexGuide.com, an adult resource on sex, disability, and erotica.

In 2013, Jenna won two Canadian Online Publishing Awards for her work on The Pain Project, a multimedia site on global access to palliative care.

She won second place at the 2011 Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism’s Public Health category for her participation in the documentary Freedom From Pain.

Jenna has an Honors BA in Women’s Studies and Feminist Research as well as a French minor from The University of Western Ontario. She spent a year studying at L’Université Lumière Lyon 2 in Lyon, France.