ROBOTS already build our cars, clean our houses and make our food – but soon they will be jumping into BED with many of us.
It may seem like the plot of a raunchy sci-fi movie, but the popularity of sex androids is already on the rise, with manufacturers offering life-like, moving dolls for “private fun”.
And futurologist Dr Ian Pearson has now predicted that the specialised robots will start to appear in ordinary homes in the next decade, as randy humans look for hassle-free love.
In a report produced for an online sex shop, he says: “Some people will enthusiastically embrace relationship-free robot sex as soon as they can afford one — as early as 2025.
“Brothels and strip clubs will soon include robots and they will be a specific fetish for some people, as well as a potentially cheaper replacement for real-life interaction.”
The rise of sex robots has featured in TV and cinema dramas this year, with Channel 4 sci-fi series Humans and hit British film Ex Machina focusing on the emotional impact of human-robot relationships.
While Dr Pearson’s vision may seem far-fetched, Neal Slateford, co-owner of Britain’s biggest online sex toy retailer, Lovehoney, predicts that robot sex will be commonplace far sooner.
He says: “The early robotic toys are out of the price range of most people, costing around £6,000, but the technology is developing all the time.
“Prices will inevitably come down and we envisage selling mass-market robotic toys in around three years.
“They could be brilliant products and let’s face it, it is the safest way to have a threesome with your partner and not end up in the divorce court.”
Companies across the world are already making fully working sex robots, which move and make noises to simulate bedroom antics.
US firm TrueCompanion’s website advertises an “ultra-realistic” sex robot, known as Roxxxy, describing it as a good replacement for a wife or girlfriend “without the social issues”.
Roxxxy, which costs around £5,000, has a heartbeat and circulatory system, thanks to internal sensors, and her personality can be altered to suit her owner.
She is physically fully customisable, from hair colour to make-up and even toenail style.
At the time of Roxxxy’s launch in 2010, around 4,000 men placed pre-orders, with a further 20,000 requesting more information.
The company boasts: “She knows your name, your likes and dislikes, can carry on a discussion and expresses her love to you and can be your loving friend. She can talk to you, listen to you and feel your touch.”
The sex doll’s personality uses built-in apps which work like Apple’s Siri speech software to handle a limited level of conversation.
For its female customers TrueCompanion is also working on a male sex robot, Rocky, with options of designer stubble and choice of hair and eye colour and any one of five skin tones.
Like his female counterpart, Rocky will cost close to £5,000. In TrueCompanion’s web blurb, Roxxxy creator Douglas Hines says: “Designing a robot sex doll involves multiple disciplines.
“We have many electrical engineers, computer science experts, artists, beauty and make-up professionals, as well as robotic engineers, all working together to provide you with your most lifelike sex robot which can interact as well as ‘play’ with you.
“The sex doll industry was effective at creating very expensive and somewhat realistic dolls but many people were telling us it was like their dolls were ‘catatonic’, like they were injured, and unable to speak and interact.
“They wanted to have their dolls become interactive and be their friends. We solved this problem and our customers can have sex robots that, in one person’s opinion, ‘are now brought to life’.”
Another American company, Sex Bots, rents out robots for £200 an hour, plus expenses, while Realbotix is developing sex dolls with AI heads — that’s Artificial Intelligence, meaning they are capable of intelligent behaviour.
The drawback is that each head will cost around £6,500, while the super-realistic torso to which it will be attached will cost from £20,000.
Realbotix says they will go on sale “soon”. Dr Pearson even believes humans could fall in love with their sexbot.
He says: “It might feel very pleasant, and will be perfect for those who want to live their ultimate fantasy without strings and emotional commitments of real relationships.
“People will certainly fall in love with robots and AIs and they might fall in love with each other too.
“What constitutes cheating will evolve too. People may accept partners having sex with AI or virtual people and robots, or just pushing ‘O’ for an orgasm, if they’re doing the same.”
Lovehoney’s Neal Slateford says: “Increasingly sophisticated sex toys are coming on to the market all the time, harnessing the very latest computer technology.
“There are lots of really interesting toys which you can operate remotely so that you can direct a toy to please your partner when you are in different countries and enjoy the action via a webcam or FaceTime.
“Obviously the next stage will be interactive robots which couples or individuals can talk to and use to share sexual experiences.
“And they will be here sooner than you think.
“We think this is a far better application of robotic technology than new robotic military products — it is far better to make love than war.”
New porn is hi-tech
THE emergence of sex robots might be seen as another blow to the struggling pornography industry, with its finances already hit by the big rise of free porn on the internet.
However, it is fighting back by embracing modern technologies, with virtual reality porn – artificially created scenes using sight, sound and touch – exploding as a major new sector.
Using VR headsets in combination with sex toys, websites such as VirtualReality Porn claim to have thousands of subscribers, each paying around £5 a month to get their kicks.
Remote control devices are also proving popular as they help partners who are regularly apart to get intimate.
Other gadgets can be controlled via smartphone apps.
‘It’s all a ‘bot weird’
WE asked people around the UK if they would consider robot sex.
Student Rob Jeffries, 27, from Hereford, said: “Yes, I’d try anything once. It would be a bit easier than a woman because you wouldn’t have to buy it drinks beforehand.”
Retail worker Abby Litten, 23, from Bristol, said: “I might try it in 30 years, but probably not now.
“It’s a bit unnatural because you don’t have another person there.”
Student Ashley Merchant, 19, from Taunton, Somerset, said: “I don’t think I’d have sex with a robot, even if it looked like my dream person. It’s a bit weird.”
Jimmy McHugh, 19, a student from Southampton, said: “If you sleep with someone and you are rubbish, they’ll tell you. Because the robot wouldn’t be able to give feedback I’m not sure I’d do it.”
Health service manager Geraldine Sands, 55, from Skipton, North Yorks, said: “I can’t imagine it but tech people are looking for more quick fixes and people have less time to work at relationships.”
Author Roger Foss, 71, from Manchester, said: “It is completely bonkers. I don’t think it is realistic and it’s never going to happen.”