Robotics Reference
In-Depth Information
so why not with a machine—a robot? The answer to this intriguing
“Why?” question will be debated for several decades to come and need
not concern us here. Instead we will focus on the “How?” question—
how Artificial Intelligence can and will make a significant contribution
to mankind's sexual well-being.
Intelligent Sex Machines
The history of sex machines dates back at least to the latter part of the
nineteenth century. A topic on the subject by Hoag Levins was pub-
lished in 1996, based on an analysis of more than 800 U.S. Patent Office
documents related to human sexuality. And anyone surfing the web to
research the future of sex machines could be forgiven for locking on to
the site of the Erotic Computation Group at the MIT Media Laboratory.
The site explains that the group:
...investigates the implications ofmodern technology onhuman
eroticism in its myriad forms. By developing advanced sexual ap-
pliances and techniques, we seek to broaden the range of human
amative expression and heighten our potential for sexual gratifica-
tion. [2]
A taste of sexual things to come can be gleaned from summary descrip-
tions by the MIT researchers that are found on the site. Of particular
relevance here are the research projects of James Patten and Sara Cinna-
mon. Patten's project is on Tangible Sexual Interfaces:
Collocated sexual interaction is becoming increasingly impractical
in our fast-paced modern society, necessitating a new paradigm for
remote sexual collaboration. Drawing inspiration from innovative
products such as FuFMe, James is developing enabling technolo-
gies and accompanying interfaces for multi-user remote sexual in-
tercourse. With projects such as TouchMounters and WhamBam-
Plus, he is exploring the ways in which the globalization of new
media technology can modify the nature of sex itself. [2]
Sara Cinnamon's research is on Sexual Robotics.
Humans have long aspired to building anthropoid robots capable
of fulfilling our every sexual whim. Such robots were first pro-
posed in Isaac Asimov's groundbreaking 1983 novel The Robots of
Dawn , and the dream of sexual robots was carried on by Jude Law's
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