CES gadget fair 'geeks' get peek at sex tech
In a nightclub on the edge of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, adult entertainment stars gave gadget geeks a glimpse at the steamier side of new Internet technology.
Porn studio Pink Visual opted to introduce the "geek universe" to its performers in a "tech forward" event late Tuesday, a few steps away from CES, after its bid to exhibit at the consumer gizmo extravaganza was rebuffed.
"We want to break down the stigma," Pink president Allison Vivas told AFP.
"There is no reason that adult entertainment can't be a mainstream event and be represented professionally to adult consumers."
Nearby, Lexi Belle wore an iPad like a pendant necklace and challenged guests to pick her breasts from an array of options.
"Technology has gone so wide these days that you could watch my scenes online right now on your smartphone or on Lexi's chest," Alexis Texas said with a nod toward her fellow Pink star.
"This is the new wave of the market and it is where we are going," she said. "The internet is what is in; so we go back to the drawing board and find ways to give people what they want and make money at the same time."
Innovations on display at the party-like event included a Real Touch device for men that simulated the feeling of having sex.
"Real Touch is the first device to do all the work for the guys," said Scott Rinaldo, project director at the North Carolina company.
"It strokes, it squeezes, it heats and it lubricates all on its own."
The devices were synchronized to adult videos when the first models were released about three years ago, but in the coming weeks their actions will be guided by porn stars on live Internet camera feeds at a Real Touch Network.
Porn star Kirsten Price fondled a specially designed phallus in a booth in a corner of the club, her gestures mimicked by a Real Touch device on a table in front of Rinaldo.
"We spent the last couple of years refining the dildo," Rinaldo said, referring to the innovation as 'teledildonics.'
"You can do it over the Internet with your wife, your partner, a live cam model or whoever."
Real Touch models will be free to negotiate their own prices for virtual encounters. Money will be split with the company.
The network is being tested by some of the approximately 10,000 people who own Real Touch devices, which are priced at $249.
"To actually be able to feel what the person is doing on the other side of the camera on the Internet is something that has never been done before, and I think it is going to be huge," Price said.
"When you are camming with a fan they get a more intimate experience, and it is definitely the safest sex imaginable."
Pink Visual has also targeted videogame lovers with sex simulator software that lets users play out fantasies with 3-D animated women or men.
"We are going after the geeks who love games and the geeks who love porn," said Pink marketing director Lee Busick. "You can become the director of your own sex scenes."
Simulator game software is free, with the company making money by selling virtual goods such as outfits, poses, kinky activities or body enhancements.
Trends important for the adult entertainment industry to be in tune with now include the smartphone and tablet crazes, live video chats, and anti-piracy tools, according to Vivas.
"Technology has to be used in adult entertainment if we are going to be competitive," Vivas said. "It is interesting for us to check out CES and see what is going on there."
(c) 2012 AFP
