Dildonics are electronic sex toys that can be controlled by a computer. Promoters of these devices have claimed since the 1980s they are the "next big thing" in cybersex technology. Teledildonics (also known as Cyberdildonics) is the integration of telepresence with sex and was coined in the 1980s by Ted Nelson. The term is considered somewhat humorous and speculative, but not so much so that it is not used in serious contexts: indeed, it is the only commonly-used word to express the precise concept. In its original conception, this technology was to have been used for "remote" sex (or, at least, remote mutual masturbation), where the physical sensations of touch could be transmitted over a data link between the participants.
Visualisations of this hypothetical technology invariably featured an image of an attractive woman engulfed in a rubber suit equipped with sensors and built-in, remotely-operated dildos, suggesting an inspiration derived more from rubber fetishism and/or medical fetishism than a desire to meet widespread demand.
Recent innovations such as the 'cyber glove', which projects the wearer's hand into virtual space, and experiments in haptic technology such as the glove produced by the University of Buffalo, which enables wearers to experience tactile stimuli corresponding to this virtual space, suggest that this fantasy may prove to be not so fantastical after all. There are no verifiable reports of haptic technology being used for sex (stimulation of sex organs), however.
Sex toys that can be manipulated remotely by another party are currently coming onto the market. These toys sometimes come with prerecorded movies to which the toys' actions are synchronized by means of a previously-written script (sex-script). As they do not require direct and mutual human stimulation, they are not considered true teledildonics. |
