[As DesignTAXI reports, Virtual Mate claims to produce compelling, realistic “virtual intimacy” with its combination of story, character, realistic graphics, and verbal and physical interaction; the company’s website includes this indirect reference to a strong presence illusion:
“As a California-based team of Unreal Engine developers and smart device engineers, we have dedicated years of time, money, and energy to devising an intimate virtual encounter so immersive and realistic, users are losing sight of what’s real or fictional.”
See the rest of the website for more information including (some NSFW) images and videos.
The reviews are more cautious:
“We like Virtual Mate, but recognize it has potential to take things much further. In use, you do get a great feeling of one-to-one action with a virtual person complete with tactile feedback. So in this regard it succeeds and places it above many of its peers. Yet, the software and hardware feel like an experimental Version 1 product though, where an improved Version 2 might address many of the negatives levelled against it.” (Robert Cram, Cram Gaming)
“Lack of realized potential aside, I feel Virtual Mate is a step in the right direction: that its development team is trying something new that someday might be an important stepping stone to fantastic new technologies.” (LongDistanceFun)
For more on presence and sexuality see articles by Lombard and Jones in Human Technology and Patrice Renaud and his colleagues in the International Journal of Telepresence. –Matthew]
NSFW VR Game Tech Gives You ‘Dream’ Mate To Fall In Love With, Gets Physical Too
By Ell Ko
20 September 2021
Humans are social creatures, yet loneliness is everywhere. As the term “isolation” anchors itself more solidly in our vocabulary than ever before thanks to the pandemic, it’s clear that sometimes, relying on fellow humans in an age so reliant on tech might not be cutting it anymore.
The existence and reverence of XiaoIce, Microsoft’s chatbot who is a friend and lover to millions across China, is one example of this. But XiaoIce is more of a comforting presence; an understanding companion, someone to talk to. After all, when the bot was first designed, she was made to be just 16.
Heating things up now is the Virtual Mate VR System. This has claims to the title of the world’s first immersive virtual reality (VR) system that transcends the boundaries between human intimacy and virtual connection.
The California-based company states that it’s able to create a “mate” based on any character or real-life figure, provided that permission has been granted to it.
Currently, the system is designed for male users, and the characters are predominantly female. However, an opposite system is being developed.
Named ‘Sheila’ after Steven Spielberg’s “model lover” character from the 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, the model is described as an “artificial Venus of the computer age.”
Every feature of her face has been sculpted with incredible precision to represent what’s “most popular” with the public, creating somewhat of the perfect “dream girl.”
This 2D model is interactive and responsive in all the right ways without bringing with her the stresses and limitations of a traditional relationship, the company states. There are even different ways of interaction: there’s a fast mode, story mode, and the full VR mode.
Fast mode allows users to interact with Sheila directly, while story mode gets emotions involved to follow a narrative centered around Sheila and the user’s relationship.
“The plot thickens just like a big-budget Hollywood film,” the company states. This allows the user to “build a deeper connection with her.”
Full VR will enhance the entire experience, blurring the line between reality and artificial more than already has been.
Interaction is enhanced even more with the integration of the Core, which is a male sex toy utilizing Bluetooth to collect data from its “high-sensitivity” sensors. This data is passed on to Sheila, or the user’s Virtual Mate, in real-time, which in turn elicits her responses.
Sheila, and the other characters yet to come, aren’t just a “physical sensual experience,” the company explains. Especially with the help of story mode, “she gradually becomes more intricate as not just a game character, but a human.”
All this points back to the principle we have always known; humans, like many fellow animals, need social interaction. However, unlike many creatures, our current global systems don’t always necessarily allow for that.
But hey, modern problems require modern solutions, or so they say. And in this case, the solution—or, at least, some temporary companionship to forget the dreads of the world with—comes in the form of Sheila.