Technology and innovation in sex toys have come a long way since the very first sex toy was invented over 28,000 years ago. From phallic-shaped carved and polished to perfection stone dildo to AI-powered sex dolls with customizable genitals and even temperaments, the sex toy industry shows no signs of stopping.
That’s great news for us. Despite the limited data, some research shows that the rapid SexTech advancements in smart sex toys may be the key to not only more (and better) orgasms but also to help treat sexual dysfunction in men and women.
Modern luxury sex toy companies like LELO are paving the way for the new, better, sexier technology while fighting the stigma that still surrounds sex toys, one high-tech, body-safe, luxurious sex toy at the time.
Evolution of Sex Toy Technology
The very first electro-mechanical vibrator was invented by British physician Joseph Mortimer Granville in the late 1870s. During the late 1800s through the early 1900s, doctors used this invention to administer pelvic region massages that involved clitoral stimulation as a treatment for female hysteria.
Fast forward to the 1920s when these mechanical vibrators finally reached the mainstream market: sold as all-body massagers for men and women as an effective way to increase blood flow to the area, these clunky hand-held vibrators were heavy, big, loud, and anything but sexy.
The ’60s and ’70s were the time when things started to shift for the vibrator industry as the sexual liberation movement spread across the States and the world. Sexual educator Betty Dobson taught masturbation workshops and encouraged women to use vibrator wands.
In the ’80s, a sex toy company in Japan started to produce animal-inspired sex toys, and their rabbit sex toy that offered dual stimulation of the clitoris and vagina became a huge hit even in American pop culture after the appearance on The Sex and The City in the ’90s.
In the ’90s, vibrators had simple mechanics and designs focused on bright pops of color, which were supposed to be targeted at female customers. But in the ’00s, the industry started to change, with the focus shifting to more high-tech sex toys made from quality materials.
Brands like LELO took a popular rabbit vibrator design and turned it into a luxurious high-tech vibrator for a modern woman with the Soraya. Together with turning the classics into modern luxury, LELO also revolutionized the sex toy industry with their remote-controlled high-tech vibrators that started to offer people hands-free pleasure.
Smart and App-Controlled Toys
Smart app-controlled sex toys have become wildly popular over the last decade. In fact, many people expect Bluetooth vibrators to be the norm nowadays. Smart sex toys equipped with connectivity features allow users to have better control over their pleasure, and it gives them a chance to personalize and customize their experience.
With smart technology, using the same sex toy never feels the same, offering people the novelty factory each time they use it and giving them agency in their pleasure. Having a remote-controlled sex toy is also useful for couples, especially if the toy offers a long-distance remote control where couples can interact with each other even without being in the same room.
It gives people a lot of freedom and fun ways to spice things up in the bedroom. The same goes for smart vibrators with an option to control the vibration settings and patterns over the app – some sex toy companies have apps that allow the user to create a custom vibration pattern (like, how cool is that!?).
These sorts of smart features used to be a dream twenty years ago, but now they’re part of high-quality modern sex toys, and they will only continue to become more refined.
AI and Adaptive Technology in Sex Toys
AI sex toys are on the rise with the rising popularity of AI in all spheres of our lives. While many people think about sex robots when we mention AI in sex technology, that’s not the whole picture.
Integration of adaptive and smart technology in sex toys allows brands to create truly phenomenal products. Cruise Control smart technology in toys like Enigma Cruise utilizes sensors to ensure that the stimulation from the sex toy remains the same throughout the whole experience.
It’s a small technology you might not think much about, but it can make all the difference when you use a sex toy.
Also, AI technology in high-tech sex toys is helping people understand their orgasms and bodies better. Brands like LELO utilize AI to help people get insights into their pleasure patterns. People can experiment and play around with different techniques (like edging) to find the best way to orgasm.
Body-Safe and Sustainable Materials
The technology that allows sex toys to provide toe-curling pleasure is not the only thing that matters. The materials from which the sex toys are made from play a huge part in the whole experience and our overall health.
During the early years of sex toys and vibrators, nobody paid attention to what they were made from. It was only important that they feel good and mimic the sense of real human skin. That resulted in many sex toys being made from questionable, toxic materials.
However, with the rise of high-tech sex toys, brands like LELO wanted to offer not only the best tech but also body-safe technology. That’s why many modern luxury sex toy brands use sustainable sex toy materials such as medical-grade silicone.
This type of silicone is tested and approved to be body-safe and not carry or store harmful bacteria that might be invisible to our eyes but can cause infections and be harmful to our health.
Discreet and Ergonomic Designs
The very first vibrators in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were loud and not very discreet. Even as they moved away from being medical devices you can find at your doctor’s desk to more mainstream at-home massagers to help lose weight and alleviate muscle aches, these vibrators were still large, clunky, and loud.
Definitely not travel-friendly or roommate-proofed.
However, current modern high-tech sex toys have evolved to not only be small enough to fit in the palm of our hands (and sometimes small enough to be the size of a lipstick or a necklace) but also to be whisper-quiet.
Smaller yet equally powerful motors that most high-tech sex toys have allow sex toys to be discreet without losing their power. That’s one of the most important selling points for high-tech sex toys.
DOT Travel is a great example of a sex toy that’s discreet, small, yet just as powerful as any other vibrator. Plus, it utilizes one of the newest innovative technologies, travel lock, which allows the user to lock the toy before travel so it doesn’t accidentally turn on at the worst possible moment.
People want toys that are pleasant to the eye, that are easy to hold while using, and just as easy to store, while being quiet enough that it can be used even if they share an apartment with roommates or they in-laws are staying over for a weekend.
Also, companies like LELO pay great attention to the ergonomic design of their toys because pleasure should be accessible to everyone, and sex toys should fit all bodies.
The Future of Pleasure Technology
All the wonderful SexTech advancements we have currently are only the beginning. There is so much innovative brands can do with things like biometric feedback, for example. With people’s interest in biomarker tracking on the rise, SexTech brands will surely look for more ways to integrate it into our sexual routines.
Also, SexTech and sexual health are often now considered part of our overall wellness. What does that mean for pleasure technology? Well, we might see more innovative SexTech products that mix pleasure with healing.
For example, products designed to help strengthen pelvic floor muscles that can also be used for arousal.
We can’t forget AI and machine learning either because they are part of the industry and the world, no matter how we feel about them. Companies already have super realistic-looking sex robots that offer AI-powered realistic robots with different personalities and customizable body parts to allow people to create realistic sex dolls.
While sex robots might remain niche for a while due to the limitations in technology, they’re here to stay. With the improvement of technology, these robots have the potential to completely change not only the pleasure technology but also how humans form relationships in the future.
Also, another SexTech niche that’s currently developing quickly and has the potential to enhance high-tech sex toys is virtual reality (VR). There are many ways VR technology can be used to enhance pleasure.
One use of VR technology prominent even today is porn. VR can make porn much more interactive and a full-sensory experience for people where they can feel as if they’re actually the ones having sex.
Another way VR technology could be used is to help long-distance couples connect and feel closer to each other. Couples can potentially create a personalized virtual experience that engages multiple senses and allows them to deepen intimacy through distance in a way that wasn’t possible before.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to the future of pleasure technology.
Conclusion
SexTech industry is projected to be worth over $110 billion by 2032. High-tech sex toys are the future, and we’re here for it.
So far, we have seen the industry change and transform in so many ways. Starting with the sex toy design – from clunky medical devices to bright pink rabbit-looking toys to sleek and modern vibrators that make you want to proudly display them on the shelve, that’s how beautiful they are.
We also have so much to play around with. Not only do sex toys have more vibration options, but they also offer a range of vibration patterns and even rotation options. We can find discreet and quiet sex toys that are a seamless part of our lives we can take anywhere we go.
While sex toys have been thought to be a solo pleasure tool for many years, current sex technology gives us much more flexibility. We have remote-controlled sex toys that allow couples to explore pleasure together, even through long-distance.
And this is just the start, with artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology promising even more interactive sex toys and immersive experiences for solo and couple users.
If you’re ready to level up your sex toy collection, check out innovative, modern, and interactive high-tech sex toys designed with your pleasure in mind.
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