The Robots Are Coming

If you believe tabloid headlines, sex robots – all perky breasts, pillowy lips and spread-eagled legs – could soon be claiming your side of the bed. But a new female sex-tech collective is quietly creating cyber devices that put real women first. Let’s log into the mainframe of your pleasure

- Gemma Askham

Quinn stares ahead, lips parted, her perfectly symmetrical springy breasts nestled like stress balls in a sheer bra. Below her, Carmen, an olive-skinned redhead, is bent into doggy position and seems to have misplaced her underwear. Nearby, a brunette called Laila is wearing a yellow dress, one hand edging towards her inner thigh. It’s the kind of photo gallery Instagram would shut down in a second – were these women real. But this is the online store of sex doll manufacturer RealDoll – a silicone limbed valley, and the only place where ‘women’ outnumbering men is doing nothing for equality.

By 2045, it’s predicted that one in 10 of us globally will have had sex with a robot. Today, much of this carnal tech consists of terrifyingly lifelike but lifeless dolls such as Quinn. Basic bitches, they are not. An entry-level RealDoll will set you back more than $5600. Add on an AI head that connects to a chat-bot app, allowing it to move its mouth and hold a conversation with you (yes, really), and you’re looking at $11,000, minimum, for what’s known as a RealDollx. While boy-bots do exist (RealDoll’s three dudes, Nick, Nate and Michael, offer quite the variance in penis style: limp or erect? Small or XL? A bush? Alpaca fleece, if you’re interested), they’ll set you back even more. In May 2018, a prototype RealDollx called Henry was unveiled – along with his $15,000 price tag.