Eternal Maiden Actualization

This September, you can have a cute robotic girlfriend that kisses on command and runs on batteries for only $175. The only problem is she’s 15 inches tall and doesn’t even remotely pass for human.

Sega is releasing EMA (Eternal Maiden Actualization), an interactive robot that can sing, dance, blow kisses, and pass out business cards. Equipped with infrared sensors, EMA puckers up for a kiss when she senses a human head nearby, entering what her designers call “love mode”.

“Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that’s sweet and interactive,” said Minako Sakanoue, a spokeswoman for Sega Toys. “She’s very lovable and though she’s not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend.”

Of course, the best robot-girlfriend that money can buy is still the Japanese Honeydoll.

Japan is home to almost half the world’s 800,000 industrial robots, and predicts a $10-billion market for artificial intelligence in a decade.

[Reuters, via NZ Herald]

Gizmodo gets a Taste of Honeydolls

Gizmodo has an in-depth look at Honeydolls– and apparently they like what they see.

If you aren’t familiar with Japan’s favorite robotic love doll with “HoneyFlavor“, you can check out my Honeydoll coverage here.

DIY Technosexual Marries His Robot Creation

He’s not quite right in the head, and his robots aren’t quite robots– but a young man named Zoltan built a robot girlfriend– and then married her online.

Zoltan’s robotic wife is a crude blowup doll rigged with teledildonics and a chatbox– but what does that matter when he’s finally found true love? Zoltan shares instructions on how to build your own femme-bot–or boy-bot, if you’re so inclined. I personally prefer it when robot building left up to the Honeydoll pros— the result is much more aesthetically pleasing, don’t you think?

Gizmodo interviewed Frankenstein–oops, Zoltan. Click here for insight on why he embarked on this journey of discovery. Surprise surprise, Zoltan owns to up to having many failed relationships and a fear of intimacy. At least Zoltan’s self-aware, even if his robot wife isn’t.

Ravaged Robots

I personally find the idea of robot abuse distasteful, but people are already developing a fetish around images of injured and maimed androids. My friend directed me to “Amputee Robot Girl Bondage” by Itsuki Takashi — the name is pretty self-explanatory. While destroyed ‘bots aren’t my cup of tea, I really liked some of Takashi’s other artwork.

This weekend at WizardCon I met Jeffrey Scott, a photo-manipulation artist with a strong interest in steam-punk style robotics. He’s best known for his art book Visions From Within The Mechanism, previously featured here at Nymphblog.

When I told Jeffrey Scott that we had a shared interest in robotics, he discussed his new work aristocracy 2032: mistress linn unplugged from securities for the sake of unconditional love. He said that the photo was meant as a commentary on robot rights, and predicted that legislation would eventually be necessary to ensure that humans didn’t mistreat their android companions. I countered that perhaps it was better that humans work out their violent tendencies on machines that could have their memories wiped soon afterward and be programmed not to feel– at which point the conversation digressed into a discussion about the existence of a soul.

Alas, we can enjoy the artwork for now and think about the consequences later.

Honeydolls: The Reactive Love Doll from Japan

Move over Real Doll–there’s a new sex doll in town, and she’s from Japan!

Honeydolls are the first reactive love dolls that come with sound— sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun. The Honeydoll has sensors in her breasts with adjustable sensitivity, and she moans when her specially designed silicone is squeezed.

And that’s not all folks– you can choose her voice, too! The voice module is accompanied by an SD card, which stores 4 kinds of voice files. Or you can store your own voice file you on the SD card, or even play Mp3s–how versatile!

But wait, there’s more! Honeydolls have beautiful faces with closed mouths, but they’re also built for oral sex. Their faces are specially designed with added elasticity and resilience, so the doll doesn’t suffer from the dreaded O mouth of substandard sex dolls.

Ugh, I’m simultaneously fascinated and disturbed. The website states that the self-imposed mission of Honeydolls is to balance beauty, reality–and still offer the durability expected for expensive dolls, along with the safety necessary for a doll built for intimate contact.

Weighing in at only 64 pounds and just over 5 feet tall, these dolls are available fully-loaded with “Honeyflavor” for about $7000. And yes, they ship to the US.

Visit the Honeydolls website for more info.

More on Love and Sex with Robots

David Levy continues to titillate the media and grab headlines with his book Love and Sex With Robots.

Levy predicts that sex with robots will be possible in the next five years, and that in the near future there will be a demand for androids with personality programming sophisticated enough for people to develop real relationships with them and eventually fall in love.

But some experts argue that Levy’s ideas are far-fetched. Frederic Kaplan, who programmed Aibo’s robo-brain, wonders whether we even want robots made in our own image. “Human-machine interactions will be interesting in their own right, not as ‘simulation’ of human relations.”

What Kaplan doesn’t realize is that there will plenty of demand for both kinds for robots.

A company in Japan, Axis, has already produced the world’s first rudimentary sexbot called Honeydolls–check out my investigation of their uncanny valleys here.

Meanwhile in the US, the Real Doll is proving to be quite popular, as well as the Cyborgasmatrix dolls.

New York-based sexologist Yvonne K. Fulbright acknowledges that sexbots will probably find a niche market, especially with men seeking to fulfill fantasies their flesh-and-blood partners might be refusing. “But there will be a real stigma attached to sex robots. People are still going to feel like losers if that is their last resort,” she said.

I’ve said before that there will be a definite stigma attached to having sex with robots, but that won’t keep certain lonelyhearts from falling in love with their robot-mates. If you want proof, check out the pitiable lives of these Real Doll owners in the documentary Guys and Dolls.

Keeping Robot Sex in the News

David Levy, author of Love and Sex with Robots, was a guest on The Colbert Report last Friday. The interview was a bit awkward because while Levy is brilliant in print–he’s not quite ready for Colbert’s brand of humor. But the interview was very informative, and at least he’s keeping robot sex in the news.

read more | digg story

Sex with a robot, sure…but marriage?

AI researcher David Levy is predicting that robots specifically built for sexual intercourse will be available within the next five years– and also says that the right to marry a robot isn’t far away, although the article admits the implications of this would be a “mixed bag” for humanity.

Levy is currently writing a paper on the ethical treatment of robots and says, “the ethical issues on how to treat [robots] are something we’ll have to consider very seriously, and they’re very complicated issues.

The Nymph has been seriously considering these issues for a long time– and no matter how close the technology may be to becoming a reality, public acceptance is still a long way away. At least in this country.

From MSNBC.com via Live Science

Sex Toys Still Illegal in Alabama

The future is even further away in Sweet Home Alabama.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jVTk0RxEEvO0n78b2XK1H8vSPXiQD8S0L3FO1

You have to love a woman that says “They are going to have to pry this vibrator from my cold, dead hand.” This one’s for you, sister.