Rise Of The Sex Robots

Virtual ecstasy in tangible form

- Chandrashekhar Shrivastava

Noted Hindi writer Krishan Chander had written a story titled ‘Rubber ki Gudiya’. In the story, a lonely man buys a lifesize woman, made of rubber, to dispel his loneliness and treats her like his real wife who does not complain and make demands. He enjoys life with her in every possible way, including sexual pleasure.

But after sometime he gets bore of monotonous life and decides to leave the home deserting her. Just then the doll comes alive and, while the man is about to leave, she grabs his hand and says, “Where are you going?” Surprised, the man looks at her and the doll says again, “What if I am made of rubber. Still, I am a woman.”

This story was written five or maybe six decades ago. At that time nobody could have imagined that one day technology would be so advanced that such sex dolls would be available in the market for the pleasure seekers. This has already become a reality with the advent of sex robots, which appear quite like human beings, can move along and respond to when touched.

Such realistic sex robots are all set to bring about a social and technological revolution in near future. While it might seem like science fiction, the machines are becoming increasingly sophisticated – and over the next ten years realistic sex androids will become more common, say scientists.

Dr Noel Sharkey, who is a co-director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics with Dr van Wynsberghe, says, “There's a robotics revolution in all fields – service, agriculture, flying and sex. They are all part and parcel of the same thing.”

Sex robots have the potential to provide a valuable service for people who are elderly, disabled or who find intercourse traumatic, experts say. Sex robots that look like humans can already be bought or leased for parties in the US, and plans for a cafe staffed by “erotic cyborgs” in Paddington, London, have been mooted.