Internet-Connected Sex Toys
Internet-Connected Sex Toys
By Elena Ognivtseva
Times are changing and adventurous nymphomaniacs out there are constantly looking for new ways to spice up their sex lives. Luckily for them, the adult industry is always one step ahead of what our creative carnal minds are thinking up. The newest and most innovative way for a 21st century gal or guy to get off with a vibrator is via Teledildonics.
Teledildonics, also known as Cyberdildonics, is the science that encompasses sexual encounters through the Web. The term was coined in the 1980s by information technology pioneer Ted Nelson, but is associated with Howard Rheingold’s book Virtual Reality. Teledildonics work through the use of dildonics, which are simply electronic sex toys that are used to control a person’s orgasms from virtually anywhere there is access to the Web. For the control freaks out there, or the significant other that is off on a business trip, you can play with your partner pretty much like a virtual reality game.
There are a few of these toys on the market today, ranging from variations of the popular Rabbit vibrators to full vibrating female dolls. In March 2004, HighJoy.com launched the High Joy Bunny that allows people (lovers or complete strangers) to control the speed and variation of a vibrator with the click of a mouse. Log onto the site and the movement of the bunny appears on your screen as toolbar.
However, teledildonics weren’t always so well-received.
In 1999, Vivid Entertainment attempted to dive into teledildonics with a cyber-sex neoprene body suit. The suit was equipped with pads and sensors that were supposed to tickle, prick, vibrate, heat or cool when controlled by the software. It was all ready for release, then crisis. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stepped in and demanded that the suit be proven safe for pacemaker wearers. In addition, there were questions about use of the suit with liquid. No one would want to get shocked because they used their sex suit with a little too much water-based lube!
Following that, there were several failed attempts at virtual reality sex aids until VR Innovations created a virtual sex machine that simulated oral sex and the deep thrusting into a vagina for a man. Sinulate.com and HighJoy.com happily jumped on the bandwagon, quickly creating their toys that simply require the user to pop a flash disk into the USB port and connect to the Web to have sex.
Teledildonic virtual sex is the safest sex
There are health benefits to using teledildonic technology as well. Sinulate.com boasts on their website that using their Rabbit vibrator, vibrating eggs or variety of other toys is practicing “safe sex via the Internet.” There are no worries about catching a sexually transmitted disease when your partner is at least a room away.
There is no telling where this technology will take us. Perhaps in a few years from now, adult toymakers will revisit the idea of virtual sex suits. Soon people all over the world will be sitting in front of their computers and logging onto websites to experience the ultimate pleasures from vibrators and other sex toys.