If you have ever watched the 1965 comedy film, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, you can’t possibly forget the mad scientist played by Vincent Price who invents the titular “bikini machine” that creates sexy fembots. But back then, this was just another sci-fi concept that was good enough for entertainment but too far-fetched an idea.
Now in a game-changing scene popping out of Weird Science, AI-operated sex robot dolls might be the next big chapter in the books discussing emotional intelligence. California-based sexdoll maker Realdoll has ventured into robotics and artificial intelligence to build a forthcoming robot sex assistant that is designed to form an “emotional bond” with users.
The company plans to roll out its next line of products through 2017 and into 2018, the first of which will be the Harmony AI app, scheduled for release in April 2017. This is a smartphone app that is reported to feature a range of personality traits for customers to choose for their sex dolls that will enable the dolls to learn about their owners and respond in different ways accordingly.
“We are developing the Harmony AI system to add a new layer to the relationships people can have with a Realdoll,” said Matt McMullen, CEO, Realdoll in an interaction with Digital Trends.
“Many of our clients rely on their imaginations to a great degree to impose imagined personalities on their dolls. With the Harmony AI, they will be able to actually create these personalities instead of having to imagine them. They will be able to talk to their dolls, and the AI will learn about them over time through these interactions, thus creating an alternative form of relationship. The scope of conversations possible with the AI is quite diverse, and not limited to sexual subject matter,” he told the online publication.
Such a creation relies on the science of teledildontics which involves processing tactile sensations, virtual communication, and artificial intelligence to produce a “thinking” head, one that can deal with mood swings and ever-changing sensations. That’s quite a task to achieve!
With its 20th anniversary celebrations round the corner, RealDoll has also revealed plans to release “first robotic head systems” by the end of the year, which will most likely be operated through an app again, and might not come with the whole body. A virtual reality platform will ship sometime in 2018.
While you may want to push your imagination and sensations to understand how such a creation can possibly substitute a ‘real’ partner, it’ll be interesting to observe what human interaction is ‘headed’ for. Pun intended.