Disclaimer: Some of my friends, colleagues and family may be weirded out by this post but really, guys, it’s just sex.
A few years ago I came up with an idea that I thought could make millions: what if we built computer peripherals that used haptics (force feedback, touch-sentitivity, sensation etc) to provide sexual stimulus?
Imagine, people could hook themselves up and engage in perfectly safe sex. Imagine the enhancements to cyber sex, imagine “interactive” porn. Imagine how much money there is to be made and how it could further research in to real improvements in technology? Let’s face it, sex sells, and haptics is an exciting research area that deserves mor funding.
Before you call me a rotten pervert, I should point out that this idea is about 20 years old and is known as teledildonics. Who originally coined the term? Oh, just the guy who came up with the term “hypertext” and “hypermedia”, that’s all.
dDot of Slashdong (that’s right, slashdong) currently has a paper accepted at the prestigious CHI (Computer Human Interaction) conference this year, the paper is to do with this very topic. *waves to qDot*
So, the idea is alive and well. Sadly, the technology is, to be frank, in the dark ages. Here are a few links to examples (warning, not safe for work):
Full stroke – who is going to attach that to their privates?
Priceless – you want me to put my cordless drill where?
Venus – An air compressor? Are you crazy?
Will a future brain-to-brain iterface as depicted in the movie Demolition Man eventually supplant the need for actual sex altogether? I hope not.