Nu Vibez and Roleplay Guide Magazine - January 2014

From Masters to Minions - p1 In the 2009 Sci-ﬁ thriller "Surrogates," Bruce Willis is a detec ve in a near future where people use android avatars (much more a rac ve than the actual users) to do all their real world tasks outside the home. Even da ng and sex are done via the safety of the Surrogates while the users stay home safe from any poten al, hurt, harm, or even unpleasant weather As in other ﬁlms, like 2009's “Gamer” starring Gerard Butler, we see a future where our current interac ve environments can be a slippery slope that gateway us into a greater dependence on virtual reality made in our own image in order to escape an unhappy life. Yet our growing desire for a virtual matrix of our own making could be the p of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to moving us closer to bridging the gap between fantasy and reality. Films are o en prophe c when it comes to taking our pop-culture trends to their poten al conclusions, for both good and bad. The Surrogates premise may seem like a future version of something with which we avatar users are very familiar – today, for example, we ﬁnd the world of the avatar and our physical lives merging and heading into similar scenarios as presented in the movie, Surrogate. It is likely not surprising that our ﬁrst large leaps into the concept of merging the virtual with reality has to do with sex. Recently a virtual sex simulator called the “VR Tenga,” was unveiled in Japan. The VRT is the product of a joint eﬀort between adult toy company Tenga and virtual reality pioneer Oculus VR, the company behind the immersive virtual reality headset called the Oculus Ri . Unveiled at an Oculus Ri game jam in Tokyo, according to one report, the device a aches a Novint Falcon—a grip-based, hap c controller—to the Japanese industrial masturbator known as a “Tenga.” Used as intended, the user would insert himself into the Tenga, which is then manipulated by the Falcon; all the while the user views some sort of visual s mula on synced to the movement of the hybrid Falcon/Tenga, on his Oculus Ri Virtual Reality Headset. Hold on to your hats my friends; Linden Labs has also conﬁrmed that they are integra ng the Oculus Ri into our Second Life experiences in 2014. Not only is virtual reality becoming more mainstream, but it seems that robo cs is going through accelerated advancements designed to give machines many more responsibili es currently performed by humans. With that in mind, there is a very short mental leap from the new VR Tenga to the concept of sex robots. A survey conducted in April of this year, showed that 18 percent of respondents believe that sex robots will be available by 2030, while only nine percent way they would have sex with a robot if given the opportunity. Robots are already used in military and law enforcement, yet the version of which we speak here more closely resembles humans and animals than funny looking li le pancake style robots on tracks. Take, for example, the animal-like machines already in existence that can carry heavy packs, climb mountains and even run at great speed. The Boston Dynamics' Wildcat robot, for example, can gallop at a leisurely pace of 16-miles-per-hour and exceed speeds of 25-miles-per-hour at full speed. There are great uses for a robot of this nature for military and even reconnaissance purposes. This could be why informa on and tech giant Google has been buying up robo cs companies Nu Vibez Magazine - January 2014 - 69

Nu Vibez and Roleplay Guide Magazine - January 2014 | Page 69