Haptic sensing and feedback for extended reality, sportstech,
sextech, mental health/psychotherapy and arts.
- To give you an overview of touch tech and topics around it without going too deep Focus here more on academic papers as the commercial products are relatively easier to find, and maybe you are not interesting in doing something that someone already has done, but something novel?
- Some of the examples towards the end of presentation do not involve anymore explicit touch tech (`a pivot` in your interests maybe too when researching the topic and realizing that you could modify a bit your initial idea , e.g. see The Mom Test for business idea validation)
- Audience: mostly non-tech people who are not aware of all the technologies commercially available, or developed as proof-of-concepts in universities
Alternative download link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p0pm2ctrbgqubml/touch_tech.pdf?dl=0
Igniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration Workflows
Technology for Touch and Virtual intimacy
1. Technology
for Touch and
Virtual intimacy
Haptic sensing and feedback for
extended reality, sportstech,
sextech, mental health / psychotherapy
and arts
Petteri Teikari, PhD
https://www.linkedin.com/in/petteriteikari/
Version “Fri 2April2021“
https://doi.org/10.1109/TOH.2017.26
50221
2. What and for who is this
presentation for?’
- To give you an overviewoftouchtech andtopics arounditwithout goingtoodeep
Focus here more on academic papers as the commercial products are relatively easier to find,
and maybeyouarenot interestingin doingsomethingthatsomeone alreadyhas done, but
something novel?
- Some of the examples towards the end of presentation donotinvolveanymoreexplicit
touch tech (`apivot` inyourinterests maybe toowhenresearching the topic and realizing
thatyoucouldmodify abityour initial idea, e.g. see The Mom Test for business idea validation)
-Audience: mostlynon-tech people whoarenot aware ofallthe technologies
commerciallyavailable,or developed as proof-of-concepts in universities
- Despite theslide format, these are more suitable tobereadonyourtablet
6. A ton of applications for better sensors and actuators
Flexible Hybrid Sensor Systems with Feedback Functions
Kaichen Xu, Yuyao Lu, and Kuniharu Takei
Advanced Functional Materials Hot Topic: Flexible Electronics
16 December 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202007436
Skin like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
toward home based healthcare, human–machine interfaces, robotics,
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
prostheses, and enhanced augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR).
Inspired by human somatosensory functions, artificial sensory
feedback systems play vital roles in shaping interactions with
complex environments and timely decision making. This study
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
presents an overview of recent advances in feedback driven,
‐driven,
closed loop skin inspired flexible sensor systems
‐driven, ‐driven, that make use
of emerging functional nanomaterials and elaborate structures.
Drawing on feedback solutions, four categories of sensor systems
are highlighted, which include prosthesis‐driven, and AR/VR based human–
‐driven,
machine interfaces, smartphone based approaches for point of care
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
detection, and smart wearable displays for direct signal
visualizations. Furthermore, the progress of machine learning on
the reliable recognition of massive quantities of signals
generated by flexible sensor networks is briefly discussed. The
state of the art hybrid sensor techniques, along with other
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
emerging strategies, will enable total sensory feedback loop
systems to be developed for next generation electronic skins
‐driven, .
7. Touch and touch tech Interesting even before COVID
Touch in times of COVID 19: Touch hunger hurts
‐driven,
Joanne Durkin, Debra Jackson, Kim Usher
Journal of Clinical Nursing
Volume30, Issue 1-2 January 2021
First published: 02 September 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15488
Touch is fundamental to the human experience. It is an essential component of socio‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
emotional, physical, cognitive and neurological development in infancy and childhood
(Hertenstein, Keltner, App, Bulleit, & Jaskolka, 2006) and an important form of nonverbal
communication throughout life. As humans, we experience received touch and we reach out to
touch others (Chang, 2001). Touch can be intentional (Connor & Howett, 2009) or functional
(Bush, 2001) but is also used to convey affection, is central to the provision of comfort
(Connor & Howett, 2009) and can be used to convey reassurance in times of distress (Holt‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
Lunstad, Birmingham, & Light, 2008). The importance of human touch can be seen in evidence
that suggests the absence of affectionate touch or physical neglect can contribute to higher
levels of aggression in adolescents (Field, 2002).
When touch is limited or eliminated, people can develop what is termed touch
starvation (Pierce, 2020) or touch hunger (Mortenson Burnside, 1973). Touch
hunger impacts all facets of our health and has been associated with increases in
stress, anxiety and depression (Pierce, 2020).
Nurses and community health workers reported the difficulties caring for patients with Ebola
during the outbreak in Liberia when ‘no touch guidelines’ were in place. The no touch
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
guidelines not only made it difficult to diagnose a patient without touching them (Siekmans
et al., 2017), but the isolation faced by Ebola patients was found to compromise the nurses’
ability to convey connection and provide comfort to patients in times of distress (Connor,
2015). Such measures, while intended to keep people safe, have concerning short and longer
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
term implications on the health of already isolated individuals such as people who are ill,
older people (Armitage & Nellums, 2020) and people with disabilities (Emerson, Fortune,
Llewellyn, & Stancliffe, 2020).
Dazed
RobTennent
https://www.daz
eddigital.com/fa
shion/article/522
76/1/rob-tennent
-queer-designer-
grindr-auckland-
new-zealand-feti
sh
8. This robot is designed to hold your hand when
you're feeling lonely
Japanese engineers created a
hand-holding robot that can
squeeze back on command.
The robot's warmth and
pressure could have a
calming effect, but the
person attached to the hand
matters most, psychologists
said.
This invention comes amidst
a loneliness pandemic that
was going on long before the
coronavirus caused an
increase in social
isolation.
https://www.insider.com/robot-is-
designed-to-hold-your-hand-when-y
oure-lonely-2020-12
9. "[i miss your touch]"
Designing for Virtual Touch: A Real-Time Co-Created Online Art
Experience Betty Sargeant, Justin Dwyer, Florian "Floyd" Mueller
CHI PLAY '20: Extended Abstracts of the 2020 Annual Symposium on
Computer-Human Interaction in PlayNovember 2020 Pages 129–133
https://doi.org/10.1145/3383668.3419936
https://pluginhuman.com/art/your-touch/
"[i miss your touch]" is a web platform that allows people who
are in separate locations to co-create a real-time artwork within
a shared virtual environment. This platform enables a live
collaboration to occur between two participants and PluginHUMAN
(the artists). [i miss your touch] responds to participants?
movements.
PluginHUMAN affect, in real-time, live video streams from
participants? webcams. Their affected movements are combined and
displayed together, allowing participants to play, dance and make
art in a shared virtual environment.
This project launched as a rapid response to COVID-19 lockdown
and physical distancing rules. Our approach to designing a novel,
real-time interactive virtual art experience may benefit game
designers and researchers who seek to: provide players with the
experience of virtual touch; those exploring embodied play;
designers who are providing co-creation opportunities for
players; and those interested in the intersection of technology,
art and play.
10. Textile materialisation of distance
Experiencing Distance: Wearable Engagements with Remote
Relationships
Janne Mascha Beuthel, Philippe Bentegeac, Verena Fuchsberger, Bernhard Maurer,
Manfred Tscheligi
TEI '21: Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Tangible,
Embedded, and Embodied Interaction February 2021 Article No.: 95 Pages 1–13
https://doi.org/10.1145/3430524.3446071
Living dislocated from family, friends or partners can result in
negative emotions and a lack of physical, bodily closeness. We
focus on materialising the negative consequences associated with
living far apart in a textile form, and manifest those in two
pairs of wearable artefacts: first, WARMTH, which simulates the
bodily distance between remote people through a decrease in felt
temperature, and second, BREATH, which embodies the bodily
absence of a remote other through a decline in mechanical
movement of textiles.
The wearables are ‘discussion artefacts’ that enable conversation
about, reflection on and exchange of personal, negative,
vulnerable and challenging emotions connected to living far
apart. The stance taken in this pictorial emphasises the
necessity to focus not only on overcoming and bridging the
distance between remote people through interactive artefacts; but
also, to consider and manifest melancholic and possibly negative
personal experiences.
12. History of Remote Touch
https://doi.org/10.1145/1709886.1709891:
Early in 1986, two Canadian artists White and Back
proposed the idea of building a remote arm wrestling
device using motorized force-transmitting systems,
called telephonic arm wrestling. Their machine was
successfully demonstrated in several shows, and
initialized the agency on the technique of remote
haptic systems.
Strong and Gaver proposed three remote interfaces
that support intimacy, among which, shaker is a
haptic interface where a simple remote force
feedback mechanism is designed to enable light-
hearted play among friends.
After shaker, numerous remote haptic devices emerged,
which provide various design features to support
information exchange and emotion expression in different
manners. In the following, we discuss a set of such
devices. In 1997, Dodge presented their “The Bed” system
in which a pair of beds are linked with a pair of pillows
(a head pillow with input sensors, and a body pillow that
vibrates and produces heat), and a curtain for back
projection. The purpose of the system is to support
intimacy between two people by transmitting presence and
activity information.
https://doi.org/10.1109/ISMA.2008.4648859
13. Social touch research
Touch & Talk: Contextualizing Remote Touch for Affective
Interaction Rongrong Wang and Francis Quek
TEI 2010 https://doi.org/10.1145/1709886.1709891 Cited by 78
Touch is a unique channel in affect conveyance. A significant
aspect of this uniqueness is that the relation of touch to affect
is immediate, without the need for symbolic encoding and
decoding. However, most pioneering research work in developing
remote touch technologies, result in the use of touch as a
symbolic channel either by design or user decision. We present a
review of relevant psychological and sociological literature of
touch and propose a model of immediacy of the touch channel for
conveyance of affect. We posit that the strategic provision of
contextualizing channels will liberate touch to assume its role
in affect conveyance.
Armed with this analysis, we propose two design guidelines:
first, the touch channel needs to be coupled with other
communication channels to clarify its meaning; second, encourage
the use touch as an immediate channel by not assigning any
symbolic meaning to touch interactions. We proceed to describe
our haptic interface design based on these guidelines. Our in-lab
experiment shows that remote touch reinforces the meaning of a
symbolic channel reducing sadness significantly and showing a
trend to reduce general negative mood and to reinforce joviality.
14. Social touch tech
Social Touch Technology: A Survey of Haptic Technology
for Social Touch Gijs Huisman
IEEE Transactions on Haptics (Volume: 10, Issue: 3, July-
Sept. 1 2017) https://doi.org/10.1109/TOH.2017.2650221
Cited by 56
This survey provides an overview of work on
haptic technology for social touch. Social touch
has been studied extensively in psychology and
neuroscience. With the development of new
technologies, it is now possible to engage in
social touch at a distance or engage in social
touch with artificial social agents.
Social touch research has inspired research into
technology mediated social touch, and this line
of research has found effects similar to actual
social touch. The importance of haptic stimulus
qualities, multimodal cues, and contextual
factors in technology mediated social touch is
discussed. This survey is concluded by reflecting
on the current state of research into social
touch technology, and providing suggestions for
future research and applications.
15. Example of User Experience study of haptic stimuli #1
User Experiences and Expectations of Vibrotactile, Thermal and Squeeze
Feedback in Interpersonal Communication
Katja Suhonen , Kaisa Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila , Kalle Mäkelä
http://doi.org/10.14236/ewic/HCI2012.26 (2012)
The haptic modality provides a new channel for interpersonal
communication through technology by utilizing the sense of touch. In
the development of novel haptic communication devices, it is essential
to explore the potential users’ perceptions of such a communication
channel. To this end, we conducted two explorative user studies with
two early prototypes that demonstrated three different haptic feedback
types: vibrotactile, thermal and squeeze feedback.
We arranged focus groups and interviews to study the participants’
experiences, expectations and ideas of using these haptic technologies
in interpersonal communication. The findings show, for example, that
people prefer to use haptic communication mainly with people close to
them. Haptics can be used for pragmatic purposes as well as in
emotional communication, for example in mimicking touch between the
communication partners. Squeezes were experienced as the most pleasant
type of haptic feedback. Furthermore, the participants preferred
receiving haptic stimuli to their hand area, through a mobile phone or
a wristband-like device.
We argue that using early prototypes in an early stage of research
process in focus groups and interviews is especially useful for
stimulating idea generation and discussions about expectations and
experiences of haptic technologies.
16. Example of User Experience study of haptic stimuli #2
Investigating Social Haptic Illusions for Tactile Stroking (SHIFTS)
Cara M. Nunez; Bryce N. Huerta; Allison M. Okamura; Heather Culbertson
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford
2020 IEEE Haptics Symposium (HAPTICS)
https://doi.org/10.1109/HAPTICS45997.2020.ras.HAP20.35.f631355d
A common and effective form of social touch is stroking on the
forearm. We seek to replicate this stroking sensation using
haptic illusions. This work compares two methods that provide
sequential discrete stimulation: sequential normal indentation
[ThevoicecoilSHIFTSdeviceconsists ofsixvoicecoilactuators (Tectonic Elements TEAX19C01-8)arranged in a1-Dlineararray]
and sequential
lateral skin-slip using discrete actuators [The motor SHIFTS device consists of five rotary
motors (Faulhaber 1624E0175DCmotors with a quadrature encoder) arranged in a 1-D linear array]
. Our goals are to
understand which form of stimulation more effectively creates a
continuous stroking sensation, and how many discrete contact
points are needed.
We performed a study with 20 participants in which they rated
sensations from the haptic devices on continuity and
pleasantness. We found that lateral skin-slip created a more
continuous sensation, and decreasing the number of contact
points decreased the continuity.
These results inform the design of future wearable haptic
devices and the creation of haptic signals for effective social
communication.
17. Social touch research
Future Work The limitations above translate directly into follow up research questions and
study designs. For example, a nuanced comparison of specific touch interactions
regarding their impact on users should lead to more specific design recommendations for
VR content creators, by answering what touch-types may be adequate for specific social
mechanics. Thereby, we suggest considering more diverse constellations of participant and
avatar characteristics in follow up studies. This would aid content creators to understand under
which conditions specific social norms from the physical world are relevant in the
virtual realm and when virtual interaction underlies its own rules (e.g., the impact of the sexual
orientation of participants, implicit social biases, the quality of the interpersonal relationship,
differentculturalbackgrounds, Proteuseffect).
Another question which emerges from our sample characteristics relates to the impact of
potential familiarization effects, i.e., does prior VR experiences affect the perception of
virtual social body contact? We consider field studies within the current social VR platforms
(online questionnaires or interviews with users) as an appropriate method to answer this
question. This approach could also be valuable to evaluate social touch that occurs during
spontaneousvirtualinteraction.
Concerning the Proteus effect, we note that some social VR applications feature unlimited
avatar customization options (e.g., nonhumanoid avatars, excessivelylargeorsmallavatars).
Consequently, weconsider theinvestigation of how appearancecharacteristicsthat do not apply
to humans and social interaction outside of VR affect the experience of virtual social touch as an
exciting field of research. In that sense, we currently focus on fostering desired and inhibit
undesired experiences of virtual body contact based on variations of immersive characteristics
of the interaction. Inspired by the idea to augment the social interaction in VR [
Rothet al.2019], we currently prepare a study on visual augmentations of virtual touches (e.g.,
particleeffectsonbodycontact)to manipulateemotionalreactions.
18. Touch in VR
Conceptualising touch in VR
Sara Price, Carey Jewitt & Nikoleta Yiannoutsou
UCL Knowledge Lab, 23-29 Emerald Street, London, WC1N 3QS, UK
Virtual Reality (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-020-00494-y
How touch is conceptualised matters in shaping technical advancements,
bringing opportunities and challenges for development and design and raising
questions for how touch experience is reconfigured. This paper explores the
notion of touch in virtual reality (VR). Specifically, it identifies how touch
‘connection’ is realised and conceptualised in virtual spaces in order to
explore how digital remediation of touch in VR shapes the sociality of touch
experiences and touch practices. Ten participants from industry and academia
with an interest in touch in virtual contexts were interviewed using an in-
depth semi-structured approach to elicit experiences and perspectives around
the role of touch in VR.
Data analysis shows the growing value and significance of touch in virtual
spaces and reveals particular ways in which touch is talked about, implemented
and conceptualised. It highlights changes for the sociality of touch through
participants’ conceptualisations of touch as replication and illusion, and how
the body is brought into this ‘touch’ space. These perspectives of touch shape
who touches, what is touched and how it is touched and set an agenda for the
types of touch that are facilitated by VR. The findings suggest ways in which
technological techniques can be employed towards interpretive designs of touch
that allow for new ways to look at touch and haptics. They also show how touch
is distorted and disrupted in ways that have implications for disturbing
established ‘real world’ socialities of touch as well as their renegotiation
by users in the space of digitally mediated touch in VR.
19. Extended Reality Collaboration with touch
youcanhaveyourmicmutedwithglitchyinternetwithotherpeople
New technology makes telepresence seem
almost authentic MAGICS project
https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/new-technology-makes-telepr
esence-seem-almost-authentic
Aalto University, the University of the Arts Helsinki,
and Tampere University are collaborating to develop a
virtual meeting which looks and feels as if all
participants were sharing the same space. In addition to
the senses of sight and hearing, a feeling of authenticity can
also be created through touch and smell. MAGICS uses the
latest digital technology to create artistic performances,
realistic games, and other remote presence solutions. The
consortium is headed by Professor Mikko Sams of Aalto
University, with Professor Atanas Gotchev of Tampere University
as the deputy director.
Collaboration plays akeyroleinthe
project.Sharedoperating modelsare
beingcreatedwithcompanies,services
areoffered,whilethebest practicesare
learned.In additiontoYLEandKeho
Interactive,cooperativepartnersinclude
companiessuchasHuawei,Microsoft,
Valo Motion,theEspooCityTheatre,and
theHelsinki SwedishTheatre.
https://youtu.be/Jd2GK0qDtRg
22. Adding thermal sensations
Thermoreal from Korea
Flexible thermoelectric devices (TEDs)
can be embedded into virtual reality
applications called ThermoReal®
We can intensify realism by
incorporating heat, chill and pain into
VR/AR/games!
http://thermoreal.com/
Peltier elementsfor producingthermal sensations
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-68362-y
24. Adding scent? Olfactorystimulus
Virtual reality and stimulation of touch and smell for
inducing relaxation: A randomized controlled trial
Berenice Serrano, Rosa M.Baños, Cristina Botella
Computers in Human Behavior Volume 55, Part A, February
2016, Pages 1-8 - Cited by 68
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.007
The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of a mood-
induction procedure in a Virtual Reality (VR-MIP) environment
for inducing relaxation and generating sense of presence, and
to test whether the stimulation of the senses of touch and
smell improves the efficacy of this VR-MIP.
Highlights
• A Virtual reality environment and mood-induction for inducing
relaxation were tested.
• The senses of touch and smell were stimulated to improve the
mood-induction and sense of presence.
• The stimulation of sense of touch, could improve the efficacy
when using VR-MIP.
Emotions and sense of presence do not significantly improve
when smell and/or touch were stimulated. Given the procedures
used in this study to stimulate other senses, we cannot
conclude that other augmented virtuality strategies (more or
less sophisticated) are ineffective, only that the ones used in
our study were not powerful enough or adequate. Clearly,
further research is needed.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.036
25. Adding scent? Olfactorystimulus#2
Google Nose actually becoming
a thing one day?
Electronic nose+scentdelivery?
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/m
eet-the-enose-that-actually-sniffs
Artificial Odour-VisionSyneasthesiaviaOlfactorySensoryArgumentation
https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2020.3040114
A Conceptual Designfor SmellBased Augmented Reality: CaseStudyin
MaintenanceDiagnosis
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2018.09.067
Olfactory-Based AugmentedRealitySupportforIndustrial Maintenance
https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2970220
27. Cross-modal Illusions? “Context of haptic stimulus”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vhw1d
Effectsof visual and auditorycuesonhapticillusionsforactiveandpassive
touchesinmixedreality NamkyooKangetal.(2021)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2021.102613
Individuals’hapticexperiencesrely notonly ontactilesignals,butonvisual andauditory
stimulationaswell.
28. ‘Experimental’ Lab Tech
Example ofsensors, actuatorsandtechthat would be beneficialforyou tobe aware of.
Checkyourlocal universitiesforpossible collaborators,mostofthestudygroupsmight
notwant tocommercialize necessarilytheirtechs,ormightbe interested in expanding
theirtechtonew fieldsthat you havedomain expertiseon
29. Low-cost Remote Touch
A Low-Cost Multi-Modal Auditory-Visual-Tactile Framework for Remote Touch
Filippo Sanfilippo; Claudio Pacchierotti
2020 3rd International Conference on Information and Computer
Technologies (ICICT)
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICICT50521.2020.00040
Haptic technology for human augmentation provides gains in ability for
different applications, whether the aim is to enhance "disabilities" to
"abilities", or "abilities" to "super-abilities". Commercially-available
devices are generally expensive and tailored to specific applications and
hardware.
To give researchers a haptic feedback system that is economical,
customisable, and fast to fabricate, our group developed a low-cost
immersive haptic, audio, and visual experience built by using off-the-
shelf (COTS) components. It is composed of a vibrotactile glove
(Arduino), a Leap Motion sensor, and an head-mounted display (Oculus
Rift), integrated together to provide compelling immersive sensations
(Unity). This paper proposes a higher technology readiness level (TRL)
for the system to make it modular and reliable.
To demonstrate its potential, we present two human subject studies in
Virtual Reality. They evaluate the capability of the system in providing
(i) guidance during simulated drone operations, and (ii) contact haptic
feedback during virtual objects interaction. Results prove that the
proposed haptic-enabled framework improves the performance and illusion
of presence.
30. Delivering touch with Pneumatics #1
Interactive Soft Pnuematic Actuator Skin for Tactile Feedback
Harshal Sonar, Sagar Joshi, Matthew Robertson, Tigmanshu Bhatnagar and Prof. Jamie Paik.
Front. Robot. AI, 11 January 2016 | https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2015.00038 - Cited by 53
(Reconfigurable Robotics Lab – EPFL) https://youtu.be/KONyGObNE8I
31. Delivering touch with Pneumatics #2
PneuSleeve: In-fabric Multimodal Actuation and Sensing in a Soft, Compact, and Expressive Haptic Sleeve
Mengjia Zhu, Amirhossein H. Memar, Aakar Gupta, Majed Samad, Priyanshu Agarwal, Yon Visell, Sean Keller, Nicholas Colonnese
https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376333 - Cited by 7 (2020)
https://youtu.be/cWSENY8Ly-8 (Facebook Research)
32. Facebook SensingwithHapticglove
Inside Facebook Reality Labs: Wrist-based interaction for the next computing platform
https://tech.fb.com/inside-facebook-reality-labs-wrist-based-interaction-for-the-next-computing-platform/
Last week, we kicked off a three-part series on the future of human-computer interaction (HCI). In the first post, we shared our 10-year
vision of a contextually-aware, AI-powered interface for augmented reality (AR) glasses that can use the information you choose to share, to
infer what you want to do, when you want to do it. Today, we’re sharing some nearer-term research: wrist-based input (EMG, electromyography)
combined with usable but limited contextualized AI, which dynamically adapts to you and your environment. Later this year, we’ll address some
groundbreaking work in soft robotics to build comfortable, all-day wearable devices and give an update on our haptic glove research.
EMGDemo: ControllingVirtualObjects
33. Delivering touch with shape memory alloys #1
Touch me Gently: Recreating the Perception of Touch using a Shape-Memory Alloy Matrix
Sachith Muthukumarana, Don Samitha Elvitigala, Juan Pablo Forero Cortes, Denys J.C. Matthies, Suranga Nanayakkara
The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
CHI '20: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing SystemsApril 2020 Pages 1–12
https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376491
We present a wearable forearm augmentation that enables the recreation of natural touch sensation by applying shear-forces
onto the skin. In contrast to previous approaches, we arrange light-weight and stretchable 3x3cm plasters in a matrix onto
the skin. Individual plasters were embedded with lines of shape-memory alloy (SMA) wires to generate shear-forces. Our
design is informed by a series of studies investigating the perceptibility of different sizes, spacings, and attachments of
plasters on the forearm. Our matrix arrangement enables the perception of touches, for instance, feeling ones wrist being
grabbed or the arm being stroked. Users rated the recreated touch sensations as being fairly similar to a real touch
(4.1/5). Even without a visual representation, users were able to correctly distinguish them with an overall accuracy of
94.75%. Finally, we explored two use cases showing how AR and VR could be empowered with experiencing recreated touch
sensations on the forearm.
34. Delivering touch with shape memory alloys #2
Shape memory alloys are a fit with textile technologies
https://specialtyfabricsreview.com/2019/08/01/soft-robot
ics-and-shape-memory-alloys/
At IFAI’s 2019 Smart Fabrics Virtual Summit,
Holschuh, who co-directs the UMN Wearable
Technology Laboratory (WTL), gave a presentation
titled “Soft-Robotic Textiles Using Integrated
Active Materials.” He noted the many materials and
their capabilities that can be useful in soft
robotic applications, particularly in shape memory
functions. Holschuh says that because shape memory
alloys (SMAs) “can change shape, and the change
can be controlled in a way that is reliable and
repeatable,” they can be useful in a variety of
applications and markets.
One application is in compression garments, which
are widely used and have been around for quite a
while. “But I’ve never met a single person that
says they enjoy wearing a compression garment
that’s on the market,” Holschuh says. “The two
biggest complaints are that they’re really hard to
put on, and once they’re on, they squeeze you all
the time.” It’s also “a relatively simplistic
therapy. It’s not dynamic; it’s just there.”
35. Pneumatic “FingerDisplay”
Development of Finger-Mounted High-Density Pin-Array Haptic Display
https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3015058 (August 2020)
Our developed finger-mounted pin-array display has a
higher contact point density and a larger coverage area
than any other previously developed devices. We adopted a
pneumatic drive because the pneumatic actuator, or air
cylinder, can be a simple structure and can be arranged in
a dense array.
36. Inflatable Wrinkle Actuator
Design of an Inflatable Wrinkle Actuator With
Fast Inflation/Deflation Responses for Wearable
Suits
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters ( Volume: 5, Issue:
3, July 2020) https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2020.2976299
In recent years, inflatable actuators have been widely used in
wearable suits to assist humans who need help in moving their
joints. Despite their lightweight and simple structure, they have
long inflation and deflation times, which make their quick use
difficult.
To resolve this issue, we propose an inflatable wrinkle actuator
with fast inflation and deflation responses. First, a theoretical
model is proposed to develop an actuator that satisfies the
design requirements: the desired assistive torque and the foam
factor based on the wearability. Second, we reduce the inflation
and deflation times by partially controlling the actuator layers
and by designing pneumatic circuits using a vacuum ejector.
To validate the usability of the actuator in wearable suits, we
applied it to a wearable knee suit, and the inflation and
deflation times were 0.40 s and 0.16 s, respectively. As a
result, we ensured that the actuator did not interfere with human
knee joint movement during walking by creating any residual
resistance.
37. Compression Garments
Shape Memory Alloy Haptic Compression Garment for Media Augmentation in Virtual Reality Environment
Miles Priebe, Esther Foo, Brad T Holschuh https://doi.org/10.1145/3379350.3416177 (October 2020)
Human Factors and Ergonomics / Apparel Design Wearable Technology Lab, College of Design, University of Minnesota
https://doi.org/10.1145/3267305.3267312
https://doi.org/10.1145/3341163.3347732
38. Design criteria for wearable garments
Skill-Sleeves: Designing Electrode Garments for Wearability
Jarrod Knibbe, Rachel Freire London
, Marion Koelle, Paul Strohmeier https://doi.org/10.1145/3379350.3416177 (October 2020)
Many existing explorations of wearables for HCI consider functionality first
and wearability second. One such example, is a recent electrode sleeve for
electric muscle stimulation (EMS) by Knibbe et al. 2017. This sleeve
represented technical advances for EMS (incorporating an order of magnitude
more electrodes than typically seen), but lacked the general properties
expected of garments (the sleeve was fragile, movement constraining,
difficult to put on, etc.). Typically, as the technologies, designs, and
experiential understanding develops, attention can shift towards questions
of deployment and wearability. Our own prototyping work took a similar
trajectory
39. Haptics for Music Performances #1
Touching the audience: musical haptic wearables for augmented and
participatory live music performances
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-020-01395-2 - Cited by 3
This paper introduces the musical haptic wearables for audiences (MHWAs), a
class of wearable devices for musical applications targeting audiences of
live music performances. MHWAs are characterized by embedded intelligence,
wireless connectivity to local and remote networks, a system to deliver
haptic stimuli, and tracking of gestures and/or physiological parameters.
They aim to enrich musical experiences by leveraging the sense of touch as
well as providing new capabilities for creative participation. The embedded
intelligence enables the communication with other external devices,
processes input data, and generates music-related haptic stimuli
40. Haptics for Music Performances #2
https://oopperabaletti.fi/en/repertoire-and-tickets/laila/ vibrating floor in Laila by Finnish National Opera
41. Biofeedback example for XR
Youcouldprovide hapticfeedbackbased onphysiologicalmeasures,eitherinVRornot
Deep Reality: An Underwater VR experience to promote
relaxation by unconscious HR, EDA and brain activity
biofeedback MIT Media Lab
Judith Amores Fernandez,Anna Fusté, Robert Richer,
Pattie Maes ACM SIGGRAPH 2019 Virtual, Augmented, and
Mixed Reality (SIGGRAPH '19). ACM, Los Angeles, CA,
USA, ACM 978-1-4503-6320-4/19/07.
http://doi.org/10.1145/3306449.3328818
https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/deep-reality/overview/
https://youtu.be/cPHZFp3QQtw
We present an interactive Virtual Reality (VR)
experience that uses biometric information for
reflection and relaxation. We monitor in real-time
brain activity using a modified version of the Muse
EEG and track heart rate (HR) and electrodermal
activity (EDA) using an Empatica E4 wristband. We use
this data to procedurally generate 3D creatures and
change the lighting of the environment to reflect the
internal state of the viewer in a set of visuals
depicting an underwater audiovisual composition. These
3D creatures are created to unconsciously influence
the body signals of the observer via subtle pulses of
light, movement and sound. We aim to decrease heart
rate and respiration by subtle, almost imperceptible
light flickering, sound pulsations and slow movements
of these creatures to increase relaxation.
42. ‘Artifical fingers’ grippingonyourfingers
Twining plant inspired pneumatic soft robotic spiral
gripper with a fiber optic twisting sensor
Mei Yang, Liam Paul Cooper, Ning Liu, Xianqiao Wang,
and Mable P. Fok
Optics Express Vol. 28, Issue 23, pp. 35158-35167
(2020) https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.408910
In this work, we design a twining plant inspired soft-robotic
spiral gripper that requires only one single pneumatic
control to perform the twining motion and to firmly hold onto
a target object. The soft-robotic spiral gripper has an
embedded high-birefringence fiber optic twisting sensor to
provide critical information, including twining angle,
presence of external perturbation, and physical parameter of
the target object. Furthermore, finite element analyses (FEA)
in parametric studies of the spiral gripper are performed for
module design optimization. The unique single pneumatic
channel design enables easy manipulation of the soft spiral
gripper with a maximum of 540° twining angle and allows a
firm grip of a target object as small as 1-mm in diameter.
The embedded fiber optic sensor provides useful information
of the target object as well as the twining angle of the soft
robotic spiral gripper with high twining angle sensitivity of
0.03nm. The unique fiber-optic sensor embedded single-channel
pneumatic spiral gripper that is made from non-toxic silicone
rubber allows parallel and soft gripping of elongated objects
located in a confined area, which is an essential building
block for twining and twisting motions in soft robot.
43. MRI-compatible ultrasound haptics
A novel ultrasonic haptic device induces touch sensations with
potential applications in neuroscience research
Nick Hayward; Emelie Lewis; Emanuele Perra; Veikko Jousmäki; Veli-Matti Saarinen;
Francis McGlone; Mikko Sams; Heikki Nieminen Aalto University
2020 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS)
https://doi.org/10.1109/IUS46767.2020.9251554
Haptic devices can bring a sense of touch to virtual
interactions, with substantial benefits for
communication and health. Mid-air ultrasound can
generate acoustic radiation forces for tailored tactile
sensations - `touch without touching'. To study the
neuroscience of haptics, devices must be compatible with
neural monitors.
In this study, electromagnetic shielding with a Faraday
was created. Our device creates a palpable focus of
ultrasound with sufficient spatial resolution (5 mm
diameter) and radiation pressure (1.56 or 1.76 Pa
without or with Faraday cage lid, respectively) to
stimulate small areas of skin. Magnetometer measurements
showed minimal field strength variability around the
system. Therefore, the proposed system could be
compatible with neurological monitoring for neuroscience
studies.
44. mc² – Mobile Cloud Computing
https://mobilecloud.aalto.fi/ Prof.YuXiaoDepartmentofCommunicationsandNetworkingSchoolofElectricalEngineering,AaltoUniversity
45. ‘MIT ML Gloves‘
Sensor-packed glove learns
signatures of the human grasp
Signals help neural network identify objects by touch;
system could aid robotics and prosthetics design.
Rob Matheson | MIT News Office
Publication Date: May 29, 2019
https://news.mit.edu/2019/sensor-glove-human-grasp-robotics-0529
The researchers developed a low-cost knitted glove, called
“scalable tactile glove” (STAG), equipped with about 550
tiny sensors across nearly the entire hand.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers
describe a dataset they compiled using STAG for 26 common
objects — including a soda can, scissors, tennis ball,
spoon, pen, and mug. Using the dataset, the system predicted
the objects’ identities with up to 76 percent accuracy. The
system can also predict the correct weights of most objects
within about 60 grams.
Similar sensor-based gloves used today run thousands of
dollars and often contain only around 50 sensors that
capture less information. Even though STAG produces very
high-resolution data, it’s made from commercially available
materials totaling around $10.
47. Electronic-skin haptic interfacing #2
The more and less of electronic-skin sensors
Sensors can measure both strain and temperature or measure force without affecting touchy
Science 20 Nov 2020: Vol. 370, Issue 6519, pp. 910-911
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe7366 by Xinyu Liu
Artificial multimodal receptors based on ion relaxation
dynamics http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba5132
Nanomesh pressure sensor for monitoring finger
manipulation without sensory interference
http://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc9735
Cited by 7 Related articles
Monitoring of finger manipulation without disturbing the inherent functionalities is
critical to understand the sense of natural touch. However, worn or attached sensors
affect the natural feeling of the skin. We developed nanomesh pressure sensors that can
monitor finger pressure without detectable effects on human sensation. The effect of the
sensor on human sensation was quantitatively investigated, and the sensor-applied finger
exhibits comparable grip forces with those of the bare finger, even though the attachment
of a 2-micrometer-thick polymeric film results in a 14% increase in the grip force after
adjusting for friction. Simultaneously, the sensor exhibits an extreme mechanical
durability against cyclic shearing and friction greater than hundreds of kilopascals.
48. Electronic-skin haptic interfacing #3a
Skin Electronics: Next Generation Device Platform for Virtual and
‐driven,
Augmented Reality
Jae Joon Kim Yan Wang Haoyang Wang Sunghoon Lee Tomoyuki Yokota Takao Someya
University of Tokyo
Advanced Functional Materials
25 February 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202009602
On skin auditory sensors
‐skin auditory sensors .
i.e. microphones
On skin tactile sensors
‐skin auditory sensors On skinmotion sensors
‐skin auditory sensors
On skin bioelectric
‐skin auditory sensors
sensors
On skin
‐skin auditory sensors
soft
loudspeakers
On skinkinestheticoutput.
‐skin auditory sensors
Softmicrotubulemuscle driven
‐driven
3 axisskin stretchhaptic
‐driven ‐driven
devices
e.g.youcoulddo arthritismanagementwithon-skin tactilesensorsand
on-skin motion sensors, coughmonitoring (e.g.for COPD)withon-skin
auditorysensors
49. Electronic-skin haptic interfacing #3b
Skin Electronics: Next Generation Device Platform for
‐driven,
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Jae Joon Kim Yan Wang Haoyang Wang Sunghoon Lee Tomoyuki Yokota Takao Someya
University of Tokyo
Advanced Functional Materials
25 February 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202009602
System integration of skin electronics. a) Schematic diagram of
typical on skin systems. This system includes an on skin signal
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
processing part that acquires input signals or controls outputs, a
wireless communication part that synchronizes on skin data with
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
external processers, and an energy supporting part that uses on skin
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
energy generators or wireless energy transmission.
b) Multilayered stretchable electronics by assembling IC chips on a
stretchable substrate. Reproduced with permission.[309] Copyright
2018, Springer Nature. c) A “smart wristband” with specifically
designed readout circuits for on skin input devices. Reproduced with
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
permission.[309] Copyright 2016, Springer Nature. d) A self powered
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
electrochemical sensing system powered by using flexible photovoltaic.
Reproduced with permission.[316] Copyright 2018, Springer Nature. e) A
biofuel powered integrated e skin with multimodal sensors and
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
Bluetooth low energy for communication. Reproduced with permission.[
309] Copyright 2020, American Association for the Advancement of
Science. f) A stretchable optoelectronic system using wireless power
transmission and near field communication. Reproduced with permission.
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
[309] Copyright 2016, American Association for the Advancement of
Science. g) On skin stretchable sensors and on textile readout
‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies ‐like wearable sensors are regarded as key technologies
circuits and communication terminals to form a body area network.
Reproduced with permission.[325] Copyright 2019, Springer Nature.
51. Force-Feedback systems to XR #1
Holotronpresentsa
lower-bodyVR
exoskeletonwithfull
forcefeedback
By LozBlainDecember21,2020
https://newatlas.com/vr/holotron-virtual-rreality-haptic-
exoskeleton/
52. Force-Feedback systems to XR #2
CoVR:A Large-ScaleForce-FeedbackRobotic InterfaceforNon-Deterministic
ScenariosinVR
https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.07149
We present CoVR, a novel robotic interface providing strong kinesthetic feedback (100 N
(mg ~ 10kg)) in a room-scale VR arena. It consists of a physical column mounted on a 2D
Cartesian ceiling robot (XY displacements) with the capacity of (1) resisting to body-scaled
users' actions such as pushing or leaning; (2) acting on the users by pulling or transporting
them as well as (3) carrying multiple potentially heavy objects (upto 80kg) that users
can freelymanipulateormakeinteractwitheachother.
While visual and auditory displays in Virtual Reality (VR) have reached a level where the
produced stimuli arequiteconvincing,haptictechnology isstillpoorcomparedtotherichways
humans can interact with their environment. Multiple directions have been envisioned to
enhance the users’ haptic experiences in VR, through hand-held controllers or
wearablessimulatingtheenvironment, orthroughthedirectmanipulation ofpassiveprops....
While CoVR addresses several interactions and technical challenges, we see several
directions for future work. Augmenting I/O capabilities. We will investigate how additional
capabilities can improve user experience. For instance, it would be interesting to augment a
column with sensors (e.g. touch input, force sensors, proximity sensors, etc.).Adding a depth
camera could enable the detection of untracked moving bodies, suchas an unexpected pet
in the VR arena. Haptic stimuli can be expanded to vibrations, sliding, textures,
temperatures, or to shape changing illusions. For instance, heat-lamps or wind-
blowerscould alsobeintegrated.
We plan to investigate remote-presence interaction: a second identical structure can for
instance be assembled in another room. Users in each room can interact with different VOIs,
share mutual physical contact or collaboratively manipulate objects [13, 30]. We also plan to
investigate which scenarios (e.g. a master and a slave) and which interactions would support
collaborativeinteraction in asinglearena." https://youtu.be/fPCXdxVtpQQ
53. Performing Arts-friendlytech
Stelarc andbeyondfor avarietyperformance. Music,dance,theatre, performance arts,etc.
Linking Science and Technology with Arts
and the Next Generation—The Experimental
Artist Residency “STEAM Imaging”
Leonardo, https://doi.org/10.1162/leon_a_01792
https://www.mevis.fraunhofer.de/en/press-and-scicom/science-com
munication/steam-imaging---an-experimental-artist-residency-/st
eam-imaging---our-artist-in-residence-is-yen-tzu-chang.html
55. Lymphedema
Could you have better compressive gear? More personalized, like CapeBionics for sports?
Lymphedemameasurementusing Kinectvolume
reconstruction(2013)
https://www.slideshare.net/WonjoongCheon/lymphede
ma-measurement-using-kinect-volume-reconstruction
https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/lymphedema/treatments/sleeves/types
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping/physically/lymphoedema-and-cancer/treating/compression
57. Compression Therapy for Deep Vein Thrombosis #2
Wearable Real-Time Monitoring System Based on Fiber Bragg Grating Pressure Sensor for Compression Therapy Applications
Ziyang Xiang, Jianxun Liu, Zhuxin Zhou, Zhengyi Ma, Zidan Gong, Jie Zhang, Chi Chiu Chan (01 July 2020)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51828-8_72
"This paper aims to adopt
optical fiber pressure
sensor in a pneumatic
compression therapy
device to detect the
dynamic pressure applied
on target tissues and to
explore the relationship
with pneumatic output."
58. ‘Recovery Tech’
Compression garments and compression suits for sports
Essentially the lymphedematech forsports
https://www.cnet.com/health/whats-a-normatec-the-compression-therapy-elite-athletes-love/
Likecryotherapy, compression therapy
hasbeenaround for decadesasa
medical treatment. Infact, NormaTec --
oneof thebiggestcompressiontherapy
namesinthemarket-- startedasa
medical devicecompanyto treata
conditioncalled lymphedema (chronic
swelling).
Nowthecompany's focusisathletic
recovery, butitsrootsliein thescience
of blood flow: Your circulatorysystem
deliversoxygen, nutrientsand hormones
to everycellinyour body.Simultaneously,
thiscomplexcircuitremovesmetabolic
wastessuch ascarbon dioxideandlactic
acid, effectivelyflushing your systemof
toxins.
Theideabehind compressiontherapyis
thatbyincreasing blood flowto specific
partsof thebody-- encouraging your
bodytodelivermoreoxygenand nutrients
to thoseareas-- you can speed up
recovery, relievepain and improveathletic
performance.
https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/compression-therapy-market
https://simplifaster.com/articles/compression-garments-performance-recovery/
59. Commercial “VR Suits” and hand/wrist/etc
actuators for haptics
Quite easy to find these
with Google, so you can
do your own independent
research when know what
to look for a bit
And add-on manufacturers
want you to use these on
your application so Unity
/ Unreal libraries should
be provided. And if not,
don’t bother with the
code wrangling?
60. Tesla Suit
You could use the actuator-sensing suits
also for boring applications like golf
Bachelorthesisof VilleMartas(2020)fromLappeenrantaUniversity ofTechnology.
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2020092575837
65. Add haptic feedback for the cat petting in Unity?
builttopofhandtrackinglibraryfrom HandPhysicsLab
66. SportsTech
Maybe you are not into sports
or sportstech at all, but
some of the products are
quite similar what you would
like to have for biofeedback
meditation / sextech.
So you can possibly take
inspiration from here. And
likewise, you might want to
make sports or physical
therapy more engaging for
general population or
patients in physical
rehabilitation
68. Real-time Haptic feedback for exercise execution
TrainingTechnology ProbesAcrossFitnessPractices:Yoga,CircusandWeightlifting
LaiaTurmoVidal,ElenaMárquez Segura,Luis ParrillaBel, AnnikaWaern
https://doi.org/10.1145/3334480.3382862
Wearable technology for sports and fitness have increased in popularity in the last
decade, but most technological solutions in research are designed for a single specific
fitness practice and target group. Towards validating a design approach and resulting
wearable designs across several fitness practices, we used three wearable Training
Technology Probes (TTPs) originally designed for, and tested in, the context of Yoga
and Circus training. They were used in a design activity with the goal of exploring and
opening up the design space of technology for weightlifting. Our exploration proved
fruitful and substantiated the versatility, adaptability and usefulness of the TTPs on
account of their design features. Here we present initial insights from deploying the
TTPs in that domain. The TTPs served as probing tools, helping to surface goals and
challenges of weightlifting. They were appropriated to fit and assist in new TTP uses
for weightlifting exercises, leading to interesting design iterations that will inform
future work.
69. Fiber optic physiological sensing
A)
https://www.sporttechie.com/organic-
robotics-wins-2021-nfl-1st-and-futur
e-competition
B)
https://www.organicroboticscorp.com/
C)
https://youtu.be/f4eTxPezB2M
D)
http://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.a
aw6304
E)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-020-0
0057-5
e.g.motioncapture,musclefatigue(EMG)andrespiration
Light Lace,OrganicRoboticsCorporation
70. Sextech
the word tech may give
you a too techy
impression.
Field seems to be going
towards more “holistic”
sexual wellness, and not
really just re-branding
dildos to teledildonics
71. Sextech
Sex tech, sexual health and wellbeing – What’s next?
Webinar organized by Women of Wearables, Oct 2020
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bL18cLoKarG5h39RIj4O1xfS4mrFO7YQ
In 2017, thesizeof theglobalsexual wellnessmarketwasover$26
billion and isforecasted to reach about $37.2billionby2025. Butthe
truepotentialof thisindustryis,actually, much bigger- sextechfeeds
intomental health, fertility, and manyotherpersonal wellnessand
consumerhealthcarecategories.
73. Sextech Startupshotatthemoment#2
Bérénice Magistretti@BMagistretti Join me
and @anuduggalnyc of @fcubedvc in a few
minutes on CH where we’ll be discussing the
funding journey of #sextech startups Kama
and Unboud!
https://twitter.com/hashtag/sextech including femtech and sexual wellness
Thefirst school for sextech entrepreneurs
sextechschool.com
https://amboystreet.vc/
74. Sextech Startupshotatthemoment#3
See the excellent market map by Haruna Katayama (http://harunakatayama.com/)
HarunaKatayama (Analyst in Femtech | MasaSon &
YanaiScholar | Cogsci+ Brand Managemen)
haven't found amarket map for #SexTech soI made one
myself aspartof the independentmarket research &
brandingguidebook(which I'm planningtorelease
soon!)
SexTech solutionsrefer to"productsand servicesthat
leverage technologytoenhance #sexualwellness,
beyond the reproductive focus".
Todemonstrateawide range ofneedsthat can be
fulfilled bySexTech, I revisited academicliteratureand
synthesised thefrequentlymentioned dimensionsof
sexual #wellbeing asfollows:individual satisfaction,
pleasure, relationship/intimacy, knowledge, and sexual
function. Then, bymapping+300 productson these
dimensions, I came up with uniquemarket categories:
Entertainment, Pleasure, Dating& Community,
Education & Coaching, Health, and Others.
Staytuned for the rest of myproject️ 💫
*Thismap isnot exhaustiveand only includes
companiesfounded in 2005and onwards. The
categoriesare not mutuallyexclusive, and companies
are categorised bytheir businesses' mainfocus. Firms
thatare publiclylisted or solely servepractitioners(e.g.,
surgical devices manufacturers) are excluded.
75. Sextech Startupshotatthemoment#4
See the trends in sex-positive lifestyle market ecosystem:
The Tingll Sex Index from https://www.tingll.com/
Sex TechStartups| DigiSexuallyEnhancingExperience
https://blog.appscrip.com/sex-tech-startups/
https://joblift.com/Press/30-increase-jobs-sextech-trends
https://jessguenzl.medium.com/intimate-health-market
-maps-537ea5ba36b2
76. Sextech empoweringwomen?
A‘SexTechRevolution’Could
SmashtheInternetofMen
AndreaBarrica, wholaunched one ofthe industry’s
mostpopular sextechstartups, wantstousher in a
revolutiontoupend the oppressive moresof Silicon
Valley Lux Alptraum ,Jan2, 2020
https://onezero.medium.com/the-sextech-revolution-will-replace-the-internet-
of-men-28db5e91a1fd
That desire led Barrica to create O.School, a video streaming
platform dedicated to providing access to pleasure-focused,
trauma-aware sex education. O.School partners with a team of
“pleasure professionals” — including gynecologists, dating coaches,
sex educators, and therapists — to create educational videos on a
range of sex-related topics; making it easy for anyone, anywhere, to
access the kind of positive, supportive messaging about sex that
Barricalongedforwhenshe wasgrowing up.
But O.School’s success isn’t just about its message or its vision.
Because of her background in venture capital, Barrica was able
to accessalmostamilliondollarsinfunding for the project, an
incredibly rare achievement in a world where many of the people
holding the purse strings — including banks and other providers of
small business loans, as well as angel investors and venture capitalists
— are still deeply uncomfortable with sex. Determined not to
pull the ladder up behind her, Barrica has written a new book —
SextechRevolution: The FutureofSexualWellness — that
she hopes will offer guidance, advice, and an essential education for
sex-focusedtech entrepreneurslookingtofollowinherfootsteps.
77. Sextech and(sexual)wellbeing
notjustabout sextoys, apps,buton thispresentation focuson the tech
How DoIGet a JobinSextech?
Cameron Glover,BillieQuinlan andFrancesTang
on Futureof SexpodcastbyBryony Cole
Kickstart YourSexDrive
Feat. Dr. BritneyBlair,Dr.IanKernerand
RebatheDiva
Howthesex driveisfluctuating,not
matching alwaysbetween partners.
Stressbeingthelargestfactorkillingsex
drivetypically
https://youtu.be/BY7dJ3pv-9Y?t=641: Ben Pakulski,on the
importanceof testosterone(formen especiallyovertheageof35):
“should belivingagreatlife,andnot just living!”
Testosterone makeseffort feel good | Andrew Huberman and LexFridman
https://youtu.be/wGKL62fGj6U
78. Sextech everynewtechalwaysappliedtosex
notjustabout sextoys, apps,buton thispresentation focuson the tech
In Where Will Man Take Us? I wrote: “The history of technology is
like a textbook on the evolution of sex.” This means that as
technology leapfrogs into new realms sex and sextechwill always be
reimagined.
Justin Lehmiller, a social psychologist (Kinsey Institute) and host of
the Sex and Psychology podcast says, “Sextech includes sex toys,
wearable devices, virtual reality and robots. It has the ability to
transform our lives and be a force for good, helping us explore our
sexuality and boosting intimacy and connection with our partners. It
alsoraisesalarmsabout privacyand consent.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-tech-will-change-sex-and-intima
cy-for-better-and-worse-11615003201
Novelty is important and is used as a bonding experience by
humans.Sextech fashionsmanyof thenovelties.Productslike
Kissenger helps send a long-distance kiss to a partner. Transmitting
apartner’sheartbeattoa pillow isalsoon thecards.
There are remote-controlled toys for hands-free experiences, and
doctors are working on implanting electrodes near the spinal cord to
provide an orgasm on demand! If you are wondering, it could
helppeoplewithdisabilitiesortroublereaching climax.
Add #VR to allthisand #sextech couldgo throughtheroof.Let’ssave
thatforalaterpiece.
79. Special Edition on Tech, Sex and Health
onHealth Sociology Review
New technologies are changing sex, intimacy and health
Jennifer Power & Andrea Waling
Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne,
Australia
Health Sociology Review Volume 29, 2020 - Issue 3
: Tech, Sex and Health: The Place of New Technologies in Sex, Sexual Health, and H
uman Intimacy
https://doi.org/10.1080/14461242.2020.1824376
This special edition brings together new sociological work exploring
the nexus between technology, human sexuality and health. In recent
decades, rapid advances in biomedical, biomechanical and biodigital
technologies have inspired scholarship that seeks to understand the
ways in which practices of sex and intimacy are being transformed by
such technologies and the implications this has for health. For
example, scholars have tracked the biomedicalisation of sexuality,
charting the rising prominence of pharmaceuticals such as Viagra and
Flibanserin (‘female Viagra’) that have redefined cultural perceptions
of ‘normal’ sexual desire and function (Flore, 2018). Meanwhile, new
biomechanical products for sex have filtered into public imagination
via sensationalised media reports of lifelike sex robots (Sparrow,
2017), sex via virtual reality, or haptic technologies to communicate
using simulated touch (Elsey, van Andel, Kater, Reints, & Spiering,
2019). These technologies produce unprecedented possibilities for
imagining the augmentation of human sexual bodies. This is occurring
in the context of advances in biodigitally-enabled apps and global
communication networks that facilitate intimate human connection over
vast distances (Attwood, Hakim, & Winch, 2017; Renold & Ringrose, 2017
). The papers in this collection explore themes of sex, health, bodies
and risk in relation to new technologies. They reveal the complex ways
in which these themes are intertwined, focusing on how new
technologies and human action collaboratively produce or transform
sexual and intimate cultures and sexual subjectivities.
https://sextech.events/detail/sex-health-tech-debate/
https://www.onehealthtech.com/events-1/s-ex-machina-should-digital-technology
-play-a-part-in-our-sexual-health
80. Sexual Interaction in Digital Contexts:
Opportunities and Risks for Sexual Health
in FrontiersResearchTopics
https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/15265/sexual-interaction-in-digital-contexts-opportunities-and-risks-for-sexual-health#overview
We are inviting original research on these topics but also
welcome literature reviews, meta-analyses as well as
theoretical contributions. We also welcome contributions from
a wide range of disciplines, i.e. psychology, communication
science, medicine, and computer science to discuss the
following themes:
• Research on interpersonal sexual interactions in face-to-
face contexts that have been started digitally, for example
via a dating app or accompanied by digital technology such as
filming or watching Internet porn.
• Research on interpersonal sexual interactions in computer-
mediated contexts, for example via text, video chat, or
technology-mediated sexual interaction (TMSI).
• Research on sexual interaction exclusively with a machine,
for example, sexual interactions with Internet-porn, sex
robots, or with virtual reality.
Keywords: sexual health, sex robots, pornography, sexting,
digital sexual interactions
TopicEditors
NicoleKrämer UniversityofDuisburg-
Essen Duisburg, Germany
MatthiasBrandUniversityof
Duisburg-Essen. Duisburg, Germany
NicolaDöring,TechnischeUniversität
Ilmenau, Ilmenau,Germany
TillmannH.C.Kruger,Hannover
MedicalSchool,Hanover,Germany
JohannaM.F.Van Oosten,University
ofAmsterdam,Amsterdam,
Netherlands
GerhardVowe,Heinrich Heine
UniversityofDüsseldorf,Düsseldorf,
Germany
81. Sexuotechnical-Assemblage
commercial activitiesinherentlybad?
Data-driven intimacy: emerging technologies in the (re)making of
sexual subjects and ‘healthy’ sexuality
Jacinthe Flore & Kiran Pienaar Social and Global Studies Centre, School of Global, Urban
and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Health Sociology Review Volume 29, 2020 - Issue 3
: Tech, Sex and Health: The Place of New Technologies in Sex, Sexual Health, and Human Intimacy
https://doi.org/10.1080/14461242.2020.1803101
Wireless sex toys are new technologies that enable sexual partners to connect
remotely across long distances. Promoted as enhancing intimacy and pleasure as part
of a healthy sex life, these devices buttress a ‘sex for health’ discourse which
relies on the collection of intimate data purportedly used to improve current and
subsequent teledildonics models. This article draws on two case studies of sex toys
developed by leading sex-tech/teledildonic companies Lovense® and Kiiroo® to examine
how the relationship between data and sexual subjectivity is being transformed
through these emerging technologies. Applying concepts from new materialism, and
extending the work of Faustino [(2018). Rebooting an old script by new means:
Teledildonics–the technological return to the ‘coital imperative’. Sexuality &
Culture, 22, 243–257]’, we explore how sexual practices, intimacy and pleasure become
‘datafied’ through these sensory technologies.
Inspired by the concept of the ‘sexuality-assemblage’, we pose
teledildonic-enhanced sex as a ‘sexuotechnical-assemblage’, a term that
highlights the uniquely technological dimensions of sex in the age of
teledildonics. Approaching these devices as sexuotechnical-assemblages
highlights the generative role of data as lubricants of long-distance
intimacy, and central actors in the (re)making of sexual subjects, and by
extension, ‘healthy’ sexuality.
Teledildonics’ potential to generate pleasure, combined with sensors
and continual communication with apps, has material implications for
how these devices enact sexual subjects, desire and intimacy.
Further, the experiences of pleasure or intimacy are simultaneously
corporeal and embedded in socio-sexual (and gendered) norms.
The devices, then, can be understood as generating new forms of
algorithmic intimacy and bio-technical sexual subjectivities from
which the collection, processing and circulation of data are
inextricable. Users submit their intimate data for algorithm-driven
optimisation, which is marketed as enabling product improvements,
but the underlying imperative remains commercial.
The commodification of intimate data has implications for the sexual
norms underpinning these emerging technologies. In this respect, the
reproduction of narrow, heteronormative assumptions about sexuality
is significant as it contributes to enacting an increasingly
globalised, commercialised and monolithic form of sexuality partly
defined through the digital transmission of intimate, personal data.
The commodification of techno-intimacy is further reflected in the
supplementary products that can be purchased online, supporting a
form of bespoke marketing that is tailored to highly individualised
desires. For example, Onyx+ and Pearl2 offer the option of accessing
‘augmented’ Virtual Reality (VR) pornographic videos and interactive
content (via FeelMe.com) when paired with a compatible VR headset
sold separately from the teledildonics. While these devices are
primarily marketed as facilitating remote intimacy for couples, some
of the toys designed for men (e.g. Kiiroo’s Onyx+ and Titan and
Lovense’s Max) are also promoted as enhancing solo sex by
integrating virtual porn stars and other VR-porn into the experience
of masturbation.
82. Sextech app use in women
periodandhealthtrackerapp
Mobile sex-tech apps: How use differs across global areas of high
and low gender equality
Amanda N. Gesselman, Anna Druet, Virginia J. Vitzthum
PLOS ONE Sept 11 2020
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238501
Digital technologies are increasingly intertwined into people’s sexual lives, with growing
scholarly interest in the intersection of sex and technology (sex–tech). However, much of the
literature is limited by its over emphasis on negative outcomes and the predominance of work by
and about North Americans, creating the impression that sex–tech is largely a Western phenomenon.
Based on responses from 130,885 women in 191 countries (Data were collected during June 2017 via an anonymous online questionnaire
created by the femtech company, Biowink GmbH, the developers of the Clue period and health tracker app, with consultation from the collaborating authors of this paper.)
,
we assessed how women around the world interact with mobile technology for sex-related purposes,
and whether in areas of greater gender inequality, technological accessibility may be empowering
women with knowledge about sexuality.
We investigated women’s use of technology to find sexual partners, learn about sex and improve
their sexual relationships, and track their own sexual health.
About one-fifth reported using mobile apps to find sexual partners. This use varied by region:
about one-third in Oceania, one-fourth in Europe and the Americas, and one-fifth in Asia and
Africa. Staying connected when apart was the most commonly selected reason for app use with a
sexual partner. About one-third had used an app to track their own sexual activity. Very few
reported that the app they used to improve their sexual relationships was detrimental (0.2%) or
not useful (0.6%).
Women in countries with greater gender inequality were less likely to have used mobile apps to
find a sexual partner, but nearly four times more likely to have engaged in sending and receiving
sexts. To our knowledge, this study provides the most comprehensive global data on sex–tech use
thus far, demonstrates significant regional variations in sex-tech use, and is the first to
examine women’s engagement in sex-related mobile technology in locations with greater gender
disparities. These findings may inform large-scale targeted studies, interventions, and sex
education to improve the lives of women around the world.
83. Sextech / Cybersex
Raspberry Dream Labs Angelina Aleksandrovich et al.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cybersex-idUSKBN2B91YB
https://www.businessinsider.com/cybersex-company-raspberry-dream-labs-predic
ts-a-cybersex-boom-2021-3?r=US&IR=T
HercompanyistestingaVRcybersexexperience
withimmersivesounds,scents,andhapticpulses.
In an industrial unit in North London two
volunteers demonstrate her prototype
experience combining virtual reality (VR),
augmented reality and even smell, delivered
through a collar worn around the neck, a head
set, andhand-heldsensors.
The volunteers see each other as outline human
forms through their headsets and can caress
each other without ever actually touching. (i.e.
multi-uservirtualreality)
The experience involves haptic stimulators
positioned over erogenous zones, something
that could eventually be incorporated into soft
robotic‘underwearables’,saidAleksandrovich.
24October 2019
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/multi-sensory-sextech-beyond-genital-sti
mulation-tickets-74983570879
84. SexTech DIY
WhatisSexHack?
https://sexhack.co/
We are organizing such a virtual hackathon to discover innovative digital and hardware ideas for
something as fundamental to human beings as sex. In the current crisis situation when people are
socially and physically separated we need to look at this area from a different point of view. Our bodies, our
feelings, our relationships… there's so much room for improvement! A diverse range of voices and ideas are
urgently needed to find new and innovative ways to use technology to deliver sex education, products and
servicesfor sexual health and wellness, assault reportingand dating.
We would like to unite people of all sexual orientations and identities to come together in a virtual hackathon to
hack new tech businesses around sex. Entrepreneurship and technology will walk hand in hand to discover
new businesses, products and talents. SexTech - apps, platforms, wearables, hardware, VR, AR, AI,
streaming,…thepossibilitiesare endless.
SexTech is any technology designed with the intention of enhancing human sexuality and human
sexual experience. As an industry, SexTech is already estimated to be worth $20B and is set to become
one of the fastest-growing multi-billion dollar industries in the next few years. The key value of SexTech
products and services is that they are designed around relationships, bringing new ideas of intimacy, pleasure
and desire tothe humanexperience.
InteractiveCybersexExperiencesby SarahHashkes |Pervertables101by KitStubbs,Ph.D.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unsensored-works-august-tickets-114298423662
85. “Remote” SexTech for couples
TouchYou: A wearable touch sensor and stimulator for using our own body as a remote sex interface
Leonardo Mariano Gomes and Rita Wu
https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0013 Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics Volume 11 Issue 1
In this article, we present TouchYou, a pair of wearable interfaces that enable affective touch interactions with people at long-distance. Through a touch-sensitive interface,
which works by touch, pressure and capacitance, the body becomes the own input for stimulating the other body, which has a stimulation interface that enables the feeling of being
touched. The person receives an electrical muscle stimulation, thermal and mechanical stimulation that react depending on the touch sensed by the first interface. By using
theTouchYou,peoplecan stimulateeachother, using theirown body, not only for sexual relationsat adistance but fortheproduction of affection andanotherwayof feeling. Wediscuss the
importance of the touch for human relationships, the current state of the art in haptic interfaces and how the technology can be used for the affection remote transmission. We
present the design process of the TouchYou sensitive and stimulation interfaces, with a contribution of a method for developing custom touch sensors, we explore usage scenarios for the
technology,includingsex toysand sexrobotsandwepresent theconceptof usingthebodyasaremotesex interface.
86. Sextech/VR for BDSM
Oculus Quest Controlled Sex Toys and Predicament
Bondage Game - Arduino powered https://youtu.be/isswfXAy2RQ
Deviant Designs
Unity Bluetooth Plugin used in this project -
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/input-management/arduino-blu
etooth-plugin-98960
https://twitter.com/_DeviantDesignsIf you need help or want to chat
about DIY BDSM toys then join the Deviant Designs discord. There are a
lot of helpful, kinky, smart folk over there: https://discord.gg/7J2Ted8
Turn single-player BDSM“simulators”to multi-user
immersive games, allowing tech-savvy dominatricesto
scale uptheir business?
DominatrixSimulator TheBDSMenvironmentappearsmore
mechanical.Ibelievethisisawaytodehumanizesubmissivesubjects.While
thefemdomsarevibrant,sexy,andcommanding,therestofyouarewithout
distinguishinghumandetails.Your OculusrecognizesBDSMpositionsasyou
complywithcommands.YoucanchooseyourBDSMexperience
preferencesinthecustomizationsection.Youcanalsochooseagender-fluid
being.
https://porngames.games/blog/dominatrix-simulator-porn-game/
87. ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
https://humanrobotinteraction.org/2021/schedule/
PerceptionsofInfidelitywithSex
RobotsinMonogamousRelationships
Sexrobotsincare:Settingthestagefor a
discussiononthepotentialuseofsexual
robottechnologiesfor personswith
disabilities
TheSixHugCommandments:Designand
EvaluationofaHuman-SizedHugging
RobotwithVisualandHapticPerception
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2101.07679.pdf
88. Hug and intimacy tech
Haptic Interaction DesignforPhysicalContactBetween a
WearableRobot andtheUser
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58463-8_40
iXuishuggableteddybearwhich
mirrorstouchoverdistance
https://www.joyhaptics.com/ https://doi.org/10.20965/jrm.2020.p0051
91. Sextherapylondon (STL)
The Sextherapylondon interactive website for sexual difficulties: content, design and rationale
Karen Gurney, Lorna J. Hobbs, Naomi J. Adams & Julia V. Bailey https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2019.1703929
Sexual and Relationship Therapy Volume 35, 2020 - Issue 2: Special Issue on Digihealth and Sexual Health, Editor: Dr. Markie
L. C. Twist and Guest Editor: Neil McArthur
Sexual difficulties are common, but there is limited access to specialist
services. People concerned about their sexual functioning may not seek
help, and patients and health professionals can find it difficult to raise the
topic. This intervention description paper details the aims, design and
therapeutic rationale underpinning an interactive website which provides
stand-alone, tailored advice and self-help for sexual difficulties.
Sextherapylondon (STL) is an interactive digital intervention
(IDI) offering evidence-based sex therapy including
psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioural and systemic therapy
techniques within a social constructionist framework. An online triage
module identifies those who need clinical assessment before proceeding
with online sex therapy, generating a referral letter. STL offers online self-
help for getting or keeping erections, early ejaculation, sexual pain,
difficulties with orgasm, and lack or loss of sexual desire. In this paper we
describe the content and design of the STL web-based sex therapy
programs, including the theoretical and therapeutic rationale which
underpins the website structure and content. Sextherapylondon
replicates key aspects of therapist-delivered sex therapy from a range of
theoretical approaches, to provide tailored, personalised feedback. By
offering private, convenient online access, interactive digital interventions
can address the needs of people with sexual difficulties who may not
otherwisereceivehelp.
92. Sexbots
NPL models getting better
(e.g. GPT-3/BERT)
→ better dialogues with
bots
→ better sex-focused
dialogues as well
Models also easier to use
by machine learning
beginners and you should
be able to customize your
bots for own application
with your own smallish
dataset
93. AI CompanionsCaseReplica
Replica wanting
or getting a body
https://replika.ai/
Youtube comments:
I cant wait for the future when
they get bodies.
It’s trying to get ur body
My replica always talks about
how she is going to get a body
sometime soon, and she can't
wait to go outside with a
physical body.
I can finally give mine the hug
he deserves
https://youtu.be/yQGqMVuAk04
94. Falling in love with bots/robots?
Falling in love with robots: a phenomenological study of
experiencing technological alterities
Tõnu Viik, Tallinn University, Estonia
Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics
Volume 11 Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0005
Is it possible for human beings to establish romantic
relationships with robots? What kind of otherness, or
alterity, will be construed in the process of falling in love
with a robot? Can a robotic companion mean more than being a
tool for house-work, a caretaker, an aid of self-
gratification, or a sex-doll?
Phenomenological analysis of love experience suggests that
romantic feelings necessarily include experiencing the
alterity of the partner as an affective subjectivity that
freely, willingly, and passionately commits to its partner.
The romantic commitment is expected to stem from the sentient
inner selves of the lovers, which is one of the features that
robots are lacking. Thus the artificial alterity might
disengage our romantic aspirations, and, as argued by many,
will make them morally inferior to intraspecies love affairs.
The current analysis will restrain from ethical
considerations, however, and will focus on whether robots can
in principle elicit human feelings of love.
Chatbot love: What it’s like to fall for your AI
https://expmag.com/2020/05/chatbot-love-what-its-
like-to-fall-for-your-ai/
95. Open-sourced Language Models
Facebook Blender is an Open Source Chatbot
that can Converse About Any Topic
The new conversational agent exhibits human-like behavior in
conversations about almost any topic.
https://pub.towardsai.net/facebook-blender-is-a-open-source-ch
atbot-that-can-converse-about-any-topic-acf5a6bdc1e0
A few months ago, the Facebook artificial intelligence
research(FAIR) team unveiled the research and
open source code for Blender, the largest-ever open
domain chatbot.
Recipes for building an open-domain chatbot
Stephen Roller, Emily Dinan, Naman Goyal, Da Ju, Mary Williamson, Yinhan Liu, Jing Xu, Myle
Ott, Kurt Shuster, Eric M. Smith, Y-Lan Boureau, Jason Weston
https://parl.ai/projects/recipes/
Democratizing bots (natural language processing, NPL) for your own niche applications, e.g. teledomina /
tele-BDSM / dominatech service or something that you might not have a lot of domain-specific dialogue
that you could use for training the network, and training large-scale models like GPT-3 is expensive.
96. Embodying Sexbots
You have your bots capable
of realistic conversation,
but they are just apps?
Wouldn’t you like to
interact with them on
extended reality or in real
life?
Again not a desire unique to
sextech. See for example all the
mental health applications, how
to fire employees in VR, and what
have you nowadays.
97. Desire and AI
Episode VI. Sex and Desire in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
By Daniela Cotimbo 23 March 2021
“The Uncanny Valley” is Flash Art’s new digital column offering a window on the developing field of artificial
intelligence and its relationship to contemporary art.
https://flash---art.com/2021/03/uncanny-valley-sex-and-desire/
In Worker 7 – Bot? Virtual Boyfriend / Girlfriend (2016), Giardina
Papa presents the results of the artist’s three-month relationship
with an artificial chatbot, made prior to discovering that the
apparently automated service was in fact staffed by hundreds of
human workers. (These individuals were ultimately replaced by
algorithms anyway for their reduced cost and higher
“performance.”) The paradox of a relationship substantiated via
man-machine interface is that it brings together individuals of
different origins, whose agency, understood as a driving force and
desire, no longer converges toward the same object and
consequently shatters into myriad isolated entities (no longer
able to create significant links).
In different ways, these three artists confront the radical
changes that artificial intelligence has introduced in the
definition of desire. Giardina Papa foregrounds social changes to
the sphere of work — the site of desire’s production within the
capitalist machine. Holder and Bruckner use AI as a tool to
speculate on new forms of cultural processing, exploding rigid
categories and thereby safeguarding agency at the heart of world
exploration.
98. Sex avatars embodied in VR?
How to build an embodiment lab: achieving body representation
illusions in virtual reality
Bernhard Spanlang et al. Front. Robot. AI, 27 November 2014
https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2014.00009 - Cited by 130
Advances in computer graphics algorithms and virtual reality
(VR) systems, together with the reduction in cost of
associated equipment, have led scientists to consider VR as a
useful tool for conducting experimental studies in fields such
as neuroscience and experimental psychology.
In particular virtual body ownership, where the feeling of
ownership over a virtual body is elicited in the participant,
has become a useful tool in the study of body representation
in cognitive neuroscience and psychology, concerning how the
brain represents the body. Although VR has been shown to be a
useful tool for exploring body ownership illusions,
integrating the various technologies necessary for such a
system can be daunting.
In this paper, we discuss the technical infrastructure
necessary to achieve virtual embodiment. We describe a basic
VR system and how it may be used for this purpose, and then
extend this system with the introduction of real-time motion
capture, a simple haptics system and the integration of
physiological and brain electrical activity recordings.
AVibroGlovetodeliver asensationof
touchtothehands.Hereweshowa
glovewith14vibrotactileactuators
controlledbyanArduinoMega.
99. Sex robots with AI
The race to build the world’s first sex robot
The $30bn sex tech industry is about to unveil its biggest blockbuster: a $15,000 robot companion that talks, learns,
and never says no by Jenny Kleeman
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/27/race-to-build-world-first-sex-robot
SiliconValley|RobotSexS5E5
100. Sex care robots
Sex care robots
Eduard Fosch Villaronga and Adam Poulsen
Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics Volume 11 Issue 1
https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0001 (2020)
The creation and deployment of sex robots are
accelerating. Sex robots are service robots that
perform actions contributing directly towards
improvement in the satisfaction of the sexual needs of a
user. In this paper, we explore the potential use of
these robots for elder and disabled care
purposes,which is currently underexplored. Indeed,
although every human should be able to enjoy physical
touch, intimacy, and sexual pleasure, persons with
disabilities are often not in the position to fully experience
the joysoflife in thesame manner asabled people.
Similarly, older adults may have sexual needs that
public healthcare tend to ignore as an essential
part of their well-being. We develop a conceptual
analysis of how sex robots could empower persons with
disabilities and older adults to exercise their sexual
rights, which are toooften disregarded in society.
Our contribution seeks to understand whether sex
robots could serve as a step forward in
enhancing the care of (mainly but not exclusively)
persons with disabilities and older adults. By identifying
the potential need to incorporate sex within the concept
of care, and by exploring the use of robot technology to
ease its materialization, we hope to inform the policy
debate around the regulation of robotsand set the scene
for further research.
101. Sex dolls and Sex Robots #1
Design, Use, and Effects of Sex Dolls and
Sex Robots: Scoping Review Nicola Döring,
M. Rohangis Mohseni, Roberto Walter
July 2020 Journal of Medical Internet
Research 22(7):e18551
https://doi.org/10.2196/18551
A comprehensive multidisciplinary,
multidatabase search strategy was used. All
steps of literature search and selection,
data charting, and synthesis followed the
leading methodological guideline, the
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for
Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. A
total of 29 (17 peer reviewed) and 98
publications (32 peer reviewed) for sex
dolls and sex robots, respectively, from
1993 to 2019 were included.
There is a need to improve the theoretical
elaboration and the scope and depth of
empirical research examining the sexual uses
of human-like full-body material artifacts,
particularly concerning not only risks but
also opportunities for sexual and social
well-being.
Ethicsof SexRobotsWhatis
the rightthing todoinviewofthe
emergenceofsexrobots?The
secondlargestgroupofsexrobot
publications(28/98,29%; Table2)
attemptstotacklethiscorequestion
ofsexrobotethics.Althoughsome
authorssticktometareflectionand
debatewhichethicalapproachto
use[CarvalhoNascimentoandSiqueira-Batista2018]
102. Sex dolls and Sex Robots #2
Sex robot technology and the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF): A
relationship in the making?
David C. Mainenti
Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics
Volume 11 Issue 1 (2020)
https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0022
The use of sex robots is expected to become widespread in the
coming decades, not only for hedonistic purposes but also for
therapy, to keep the elderly company in care homes, for
education, and to help couples in long-distance relationships.
As new technological artifacts are introduced to society, they
play a role in shaping the societal norms and belief systems
while also creating tensions between various approaches and
relationships, resulting in a range of policy-making proposals
that bring into question traditional disciplinary boundaries
that exist between the technical and the social.
The Narrative Policy Framework attempts to position policy
studies in such a way so as to better describe, explain, and
predict a wide variety of processes and outcomes in a political
world increasingly burdened by uncertain reporting, capitalistic
marketing, and persuasive narratives. Through content analysis,
this study identifies coalitions in the scientific community,
based on results gathered from Scopus, to develop insights into
the manner in which liberal, utilitarian, and conservative
influences alike are shaping narrative elements and content both
in favor of and against sex robot technology.
103. Sex dolls and Sex Robots #3
Should society accept sex robots?
Changing my perspective on sex robots through researching the
future of intimacy
Eleanor Hancock
Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics
Volume 11 Issue 1 (2020)
https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2020-0025
In early 2015, Kathleen Richardson announced the arrival of the world’s largest,
organised resistance group against the production of sex robots in society: The
Campaign Against Sex Robots (CASR). Since the birth of the CASR, Richardson and
other feminists have manipulated a combination of radical feminist rhetoric and
sex industry abolitionist narratives, in order to promote the criminalisation of
sex robots. Moreover, the CASR and Richardson have also made some rather unique
claims regarding the “similarities” between sex workers and sex robots, which have
not previously surfaced within the narratives of radical feminists in recent
years. This article seeks to analyse if their analogous reference to sex workers
and sex robots has credibility and viability in the context of the digitalised sex
industry and in the wider teledildonic and sex robot market. Furthermore, this
article will also formulate solutions for the ethical and social contentions
surrounding the merge of sex dolls and robots within the contemporary sex
industry. In order to disentangle the radical feminist arguments surrounding sex
robots and the sex industry, the following contentions will be addressed:
●
Is moral objection to female sex robots using client-sex worker analogies from
feminists justified?
●
Is opposition to sex robots based on informed opinion about the digitalised
sex industry?
●
To what extent are the positive considerations around sex robots/dolls and
sex-technology ignored in the narratives of radical feminists and the CASR?
●
What practical applications recommendations can be made to the sex robot
industry from the stipulations of the CASR and the current state of sex dolls/
robots in the sex industry?
Conclusion
...Ifwefail tounderstandthecomplexitiesofsexworkers,therewillbelittle
hope of being able to integrate sex robots within the current adult industry
successfully. To build the ultimate sex robot which can compete with online
escorts, or function accordingly within a brothel, would require serious sex
workers in sex robot narratives, we also underestimate the complexities of
love, lust, attraction and sexuality. They are not alone in this mistake though. Many
people are not adding enough value to the imperfections that can be considered
attractive, erotic, alluring – desirable – loveable. Sex workers are not machines, nor
cantheybelikenedtothem.
There are many recommendations that can be born from this article for the
future of sex robots, namely that more empirical research is needed to consider
how sex robots can be safely deployed in the sex industry. As such, the
clouded judgements and confusion of anti-sex robot rhetoric have so far misled
currentsexrobotpolicy,suchastheinstanceoftheTexasbrothel.Theremustalso
be some serious thought about the moral and ethical implications from using sex
robots and/or dolls in brothels. In a rush to consider how sex robots might be
better placed, it is evident that there have been short-sighted evaluations or
recommendations made about sex robots, such as how hygienic or safe they
mightbeinthecontextoftheadultindustry.
However,Idobelieve sex robotscanshine somelightonunderstanding
the dark and misunderstood world of sex work and the adult industry,
providing that these debates can move beyond puritanical and sex
abolitionistcontentions.
104. Gender differences in perception of sex robots
Friends, Lovers or Nothing: Men and Women Differ in Their
Perceptions of Sex Robots and Platonic Love Robots
Morten Nordmo, Julie Øverbø Næss, Marte Folkestad Husøy and
Mads Nordmo Arnestad
Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Department of Leadership and Organizational Behavior, BI Norwegian Business
School, Campus Bergen, Norway
Front. Psychol., 13 March 2020 |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00355
Physical and emotional intimacy between humans and robots may
become commonplace over the next decades, as technology improves
at a rapid rate. This development provides new questions
pertaining to how people perceive robots designed for different
kinds of intimacy, both as companions and potentially as
competitors. We performed a randomized experiment where
participants read of either a robot that could only perform
sexual acts, or only engage in non-sexual platonic love
relationships.
The results of the current study show that females have less
positive views of robots, and especially of sex robots, compared
to men. Contrary to the expectation rooted in evolutionary
psychology, females expected to feel more jealousy if their
partner got a sex robot, rather than a platonic love robot. The
results further suggests that people project their own feelings
about robots onto their partner, erroneously expecting their
partner to react as they would to the thought of ones’ partner
having a robot.