It was reported recently that a grieving pensioner in Japan received a sex doll that was a near life-like replica of his deceased wife (but as her younger self), apparently as an act of kindness by the doll company. Although realistic sex dolls are not yet 3D printed (to my knowledge), and nor are sex doll manufacturers utilizing 3D scanning technology, it’s easy to see how in the not too distant future 3D scanning and printing will enable some remarkable possibilities in the sex doll world.
3D scanning technologies are becoming cheaper and more popular, a trend that is being pushed by both 3D printing and, even more so now, the nascent virtual and augmented reality markets. Last month a company in Estonia opened a ‘3D photo pod’ that allows customers to step inside and have themselves scanned in order to create a 3D photo realistic avatar for use in virtual worlds. A few days ago it was reported that 3D facial images can now be generated from a single 2D photo.
3D scanning technology has already been used to create ‘3D printed selfies’, but for the time being, the limitations of 3D printing technology mean that only small life-like figurines are really possible. We’re still someway from printing out realistic sex dolls using such technology, but a German company has quickly seized the opportunity to produce and sell erotic mini-figurines of pornstars which can be bought online.
Virtual and augmented (or ‘mixed’) reality will also be quick to take advantage of the erotic possibilities of 3D scanning. Real time 3D scanning will be essential for true live virtual reality sex to become a thing (seeing your partner or vr cam girl wearing a clunky headset as you make love to him or her might diminish the erotic experience). As what you are seeing in VR is an avatar (even if photo-realistic), then lesser or greater degrees of enhancement might be used by virtual sex lovers, such as slightly younger skin or larger sexual organs. Alternatively, people may adopt the scanned avatars of others, such as pornstars (something already suggested by adult company SugarDVD). Lovers could even ‘switch bodies’ in virtual reality by adopting each other’s avatars.
Whilst the adult entertainment potential of 3D scanning is likely to be exploited first by virtual reality porn companies, true virtual sex will nonetheless make use of sex dolls. Teledildonics is already a part of virtual reality, and the leading vr porn site – VirtualRealPorn – has partnered with a sex toy company that produces ‘haptic sex toys’ that can be operated remotely and in synch with action taking place in virtual reality, be it a pre-recorded video scene or a live VR webcam performer. However, haptic masturbators and dildos are still incomplete versions of true remote sex, which would require a life-size haptic sex doll.
To go back to the Japanese man with the sex doll replica of his deceased wife. Imagine if he had had the sex doll made whilst she was still alive. Now imagine the sex doll combined with sophisticated haptic technology + real time 3D scanning to enable the man to have remote sex with his wife using the sex doll replica of her (the sex doll would mimic the movements of the wife in realtime through 3D scanning – and, of course, for true virtual sex, the wife would be experiencing the same thing through a sex doll replica of her husband).
Before sexbots ever become widely used, this scenario is much more likely – remote sex using lifelike haptic sex dolls. The distinction between haptic sex dolls and sex robots, however, might not always be clear. Let’s return to our grieving Japanese friend one last time. Imagine if his virtual remote sex sessions with his living wife using a lifelike haptic sex doll were recorded. Not only would he have a sex doll replica to play with in order to remind him of his deceased wife, he would be able to experience actual sex with her again, or at least ‘relive’ previous remote sex sessions, or indeed normal real sex with her that might have also been recorded through 3D scanning. If this sounds fanciful, you might not have heard the news that an adult webcam company recently announced the first haptic databank of ‘downloadable blowjobs’.
