The dawn of a new sexual era

With the prevalence of Twitter, Skype, and various other online social platforms nowadays, it seems that we are starting to abandon the days of offline social communication. Well, turns out it’s going to get worse. In the future, not only you might not have to speak to another human being in person, but you might also not have to have sex with one! (I know, this bares a sigh of relief for those socially awkward people who hate any human contact whatsoever.) These changes may be attributed to the fact that throughout time we have gone through various stages of sexual discovery, constantly finding new ways to pleasure ourselves. There was the invention of the vibrator, blow-up dolls, and now we have finally come to a new stage by taking sexual stimulation to the next level. Long gone are the days of nudie magazines, welcome to the world of Virtual Reality (VR) porn.

Of course VR itself is nothing new; there are already, for instance, many online VR chatrooms in current existence. For adults, there is even an online sexual universe called Utherverse, which consists of many worlds to satisfy all your sexual desires. Red Light Center is one of them. This online adult club allows you to design your own avatar and socialize with other avatars, a great place for a virtual one night stand. The avatars are all ergonomically correct, and the sexual activity is detailed and animated. The users choose a position or action from a user menu and watch the actions played out on screen. However, if you want to be on the cutting edge of the porn industry, then you’d better find out more beyond this, and learn about the recent innovation in the world of VR porn: teledildonics.

Future Sex Toys

Teledildonics are electronic sex toys that plug into a computer via USB. These toys have sensors that are activated while the user is hooked up and plugged in. So, how does this work in the VR world? You may have heard of Oculus Rift, the pioneers of headset manufacturing in 3D gaming. In theory, you would upload your avatar in the VR world, strap on the Rift, and attach your teledildonic toy to your corresponding sex organ. Congratulations, you are now ready to enter the adult VR world. These may seem like gadgets from the future, but as they say, the future is now.

However, although these products indeed are in current existence, like every innovation it may take time for the public to catch on. The consumer version of the Oculus Rift headset itself isn’t even available until Spring of 2016. Once the headset is released though, it seems there’s no stopping it from reaching the hands of pornographers even further. Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR, says, “The Rift is an open platform. We don’t control what software can run on it.” For example, Japanese company, Up Frontier, has even created a VR product with the Rift that would allow a user to grab a fake pair of breasts of a virtual character, who would then squeal and cover herself. Similarly, another product currently being developed for the Rift is a pressure sensitive pillow that would simulate putting ones head in a woman’s lap.

Of course all these gadgets would mean nothing without good quality audiovisual experience. What does the future of such aspect on VR porn look like? First, let’s take a look at the 3D scanning technology Veiviev – the leading company for digital technology – currently uses, which makes the common cartoonish avatars look prehistoric. Veiviev has a product on the market called Lucid Dreams, which they used to scan porn stars and upload them into the VR world. The visual results are stunning (you might want to check it out), although maybe they are not as interactive as one would like; they are more like 3D sculptures of idle women in provocative poses that you can walk around. In a more exciting note though, is another example involving a project of Virtualrealporn.com, which is now working with the Rift for a more interactive product to work in conjunction with the aforementioned teledildonics. The visual is going to be a 180-degree view from the males’ point of view. To complete the full live action experience, they also incorporate sound files where the actress whispers into the user's ear.

Certainly, all this information is just a tease. Although we are currently living in a world where VR porn exists, it’s going to be awhile before we see a “good quality” product on the market. Linda Wells, Communication Director at Virtualrealporn.com, says “filming is time consuming and expensive. There currently isn’t any equipment on the market to film the good quality stuff.” So basically, we are witnessing the Charlie Chaplin days of the VR porn industry. There are, for instance, some questions still being raised about some glitches in the VR porn world, where some users have reported slight motion sickness while using the products. Furthermore, many are also concerned on why industries haven’t explored more VR porn products for female consumers. No need to worry though, since developers are constantly experimenting with new ways of filming and creating new equipment.

So, VR porn is not quite yet reaching its full potential, but for now, there are at least still some good news for those of you who prefer more traditional skin-on-skin contact with your lovers. Let me introduce you to the Glance app. Sherif Maktabi, founder of the app, says with his product, “you will be able to view sex at every angle.” Sounds interesting, but how does this work? First, you open the app on your iPhone, and carefully place it down at any particular angle you desire. Next, you need to use a second iPhone and place it at another angle you think might be interesting. Finally, hit the record button and begin your night of passion. After you’re done with the steamy session, you can take a break and view the two videos seamlessly side by side. In regards to privacy, Maktabi is aware that we are living in an age where sex tapes and everything you do on the internet can come back to haunt you. That’s why for this reason, Glance has no connection to the internet, so nothing will be uploaded to a Cloud. The video can only be saved if you save it, if not the video is permanently wiped.

Lastly, Glance is also currently working with Google Glass to create the Sex with Glass app. If you have ever asked yourself, “What do I look like whilst grinding on top of my partner?”, then this product is for you. To use it, you and your partner would need to put on Google Glass and begin live streaming your sexual activity. If you want to see what your partner is seeing, simply say “OK Glass” and you are instantly viewing what your partner sees. Had enough? Say “pull out Glass” and the video is then removed from your view. Like the Glance app, the video can only be seen by you. If you choose not to save your video, it will be automatically deleted five hours after the recording took place. Despite its originality, however, Maktabi is aware that not every is going to jump on board with his product. He says that “some people find what we do repulsive, but a lot of other people really desire to try this.” As they say if you build it, they will come.