As virtual reality technology gets more advanced,’metaverse sex’ could eventually become the “norm,” replacing pornography apps and websites, just as websites pushed out magazines, according to Simon Hall, cofounder and MD of Mixed Reality Rooms.
Hall says more people will start using VR headsets as the tools become more widely accessible in the coming years. And state-of-the-art haptic technology will make having sex in the metaverse feel “real,” complete with smells and touch, he added, as reported by the Daily Mail.
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A metaverse sex experience never to forget
Some people may be repulsed by the idea of having sex in the metaverse, where users are currently represented by not-so-impressive avatars. But Hall believes the act will catch on to become the “new normal” as people “lean into convenience,” as they did with dating apps.
“Immersive experiences are compelling, simulating the visuals exceptionally well, which, when combined with haptic technology, like sex toys that respond to inputs and produce physical outcomes, will provide an experience close enough to the real thing,’ said Hall.
The founder spoke about how connected sex toys could help make virtual reality (VR) sexual intercourse “real”, and even more intimate. He expects the toys to come as accessories with the surge in virtual reality headset adoption.
“I expect there will be more of an integrated link between Bluetooth sex toys that use haptic technology and VR headsets,’ Hall told the Mail.
People are already finding love in the metaverse, and others “use online multiplayer games and simulations that replicate sex virtually with their partners and strangers,” Hall said. Once VR, metaverse spaces, and sex toys overlap, then intercourse will come to the metaverse.
Matt Otroshenko, cofounder and managing partner at adult virtual reality firm VIAVR, said VR companies are emerging as formidable rivals to traditional players in the 2D sex industry because they “produce specialized videos that are synchronized with various devices.”
“A vast amount of content is being created with customizable sexual avatars. This will all be in virtual reality, undoubtedly forming part of the metaverse. The interaction with these avatars will be gradual,” Otroshenko told MetaNews.
It means that real-time video content is already being integrated with devices like pumps or interactive sex machines, he added. Otroshenko said demand for VR sex is “colossal” and companies involved are “earning tens of millions of dollars.”
But the technology could also come with the risk of abuse, Simon Hall warned. Specifically, he was referring to the use of AI-generated deepfake images or videos of regular people or celebrities in malicious online content like porn without their consent.
Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK raised similar concerns in a study released in 2017. They said VR porn could result in “unrealistic expectations for the sexual experience” or could even have more extreme effects, like turning to violent and abusive content.
Touch and smell in the metaverse
For haptics, there are new experiments demonstrating how the technology can be used to make the metaverse experience more immersive and realistic. Meta is also developing photorealistic avatars for the metaverse, as recently showcased by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
As MetaNews previously reported, researchers at the City University of Hong Kong revealed “an advanced wireless haptic interface system” in December last year that allows people to touch each other in the metaverse.
Dubbed “WeTac”, the technology builds on related existing ideas and functions through a hand patch that is hydrogel-based. It simulates a feeling in the palm, allowing the user to feel a human sensation.
The researchers say WeTac consists of soft, ultra-thin features and collects sensation data. This means people can touch each other in the metaverse, enhancing the experience.
Over the coming years, people could be able to do more in the metaverse, including smelling the scent of their lovers or even tasting things, thanks to advances in multi-sensory VR, a kind of tech that allows for more immersion using all five senses, said Hall, the Mixed Reality Rooms MD.
“We can expect that multi-sensory VR will see sex in the metaverse become the norm for most people in technologically advanced areas,” he detailed.
“We believe the future of metaverse sex will be a mix of VR headsets combined with sex toys that can be linked using technology that already exists, like Bluetooth, to help create a fully immersive experience.’
Scent will struggle to ‘catch on’
It is not completely out of this world that people interacting in a virtual world can smell stuff. According to the Mail report, researchers in Sweden developed a device in 2022 that “sends aromas up your nose while you play video games in virtual reality.”
The system delivers liquid scents directly to the player’s nostrils at synchronized moments throughout the game, seamlessly blending the virtual world with the physical realm, it said.
The tool represents a modern revival of the ‘Smell-O-Vision’ concept, pioneered by Swiss professor Hans Laube in 1960, who envisioned enhancing the cinematic experience by releasing scents during film screenings.
Otroshenko, the VIAVR managing partner, believes the integration of scent as a means to enhance the metaverse sexual experience is not an “immediate priority.”
“The current focus is on tactile sensations, like selling accessories linked to primary tactile experiences (pumps, interactive sex machines) and secondary ones (gloves that allow you to touch and feel the warmth of an avatar),” he told MetaNews.
“There will be many other drivers before scents, which remain a contentious point. Experiments in other industries, like 5D cinemas, have shown that scents didn’t catch on.”
No limit for virtual intercourse
Hall says one advantage of having sex in the metaverse is that it can be done anywhere, even outside homes, allowing people to make out in simulated locations. He expects that men will benefit more from virtual intercourse because they are more lonely.
“The metaverse has no limit and will enable people to live out all of their sexual fantasies,’ he explained.
“It makes it accessible for people to have virtual sex in different locations across the world, real or fictional, in private or public, and even perhaps in front of a virtual audience, simulated or human.”
Hall continued: “Do I think this is good for us as ‘humans’? Not, but at the same time, sex is a basic human desire, and people will need an outlet to express themselves.”
Studies suggest that only 10% to 20% of men get the majority of the women (between 80% and 90%), mainly because of biases found in dating apps, Hall stated.
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