When we talk to you about the ‘SexTech Revolution’ you might wonder just what it is we mean.

Are we about to be enslaved by a bunch of walking battle droids, not dissimilar to Star Wars’ AT-ATs, with raging metal phalluses; intent on orgasmic destruction?

Erm, well… no, not exactly. In fact, when it comes to the SexTech Revolution then you, our dear readers, may already be a part of it. You might not be a totally active player or participant just yet, but there’s no escaping the simple fact – 2015 is the year of SexTech. You’d be crazy not to jump on this bandwagon.

But ask yourself before you continue: do you really understand what SexTech is? It isn’t as simple as moving all of your old mags and clippings onto a digital format. It’s about the evolution of human sexuality, taking advantage of the privileges afforded to us by research, experimentation and free thought. It is the design and manipulation of technology led by human intention.

Consider how quickly the technology has been developed and released. Even mid-90s sci-fi cult classic Demolition Man appeared to have their own take on the future and SexTech, meaning even somebody who looks like Sylvester Stallone can get lucky now and then:

The world and society at large is primed for it already. Our lives have quickly become dominated by technology, sometimes cornering us, rabidly demanding our attention. Sex and pornography, particularly when it comes to the internet, are both growing exponentially, despite the best efforts of miserable, grey and faceless boardroom hustlers who seem intent on quashing YOUR good time.

What we’re facing is the acceleration of the fruition of the convergence of sex and technology. The two are starting to become inextricably linked.

We already know that one-fifth of millennials surveyed text either in bed or even during sex. Within a decade we are expecting fully-fledged robotic sex partners to cater to our deepest desires. Soon we will be experiencing total immersion in our own living rooms. The potential is limitless.

That’s the key word: ‘potential’. There are countless more products to be created, experiences to be had and yes, money to be made. The companies, individuals and products making headway in the SexTech market are unique in corporate terms – their sole desire as creators and manufacturers is to get YOU off. Service with a smile, right?

We are entering a time where the SexTech market is bigger, more robust, more advanced and willing to challenge more than ever. Despite the setbacks, the sneers from the mainstream and a reluctance from some quarters of the public to engage, or even simply accept, SexTech, the business grows larger still.

It’s also about doing away with the stigma that still surrounds public declarations of having and enjoying sex, as well as new modes of *ahem* having and enjoying it.

Jennifer McEwen, co-founder of adult app store MiKandi and Google Glass adult app Tits & Glass, said: “2015 will be the year mainstream tech is forced to acknowledge that sexual expression happens on their platforms and services. I’m optimistic that society tends towards open-mindedness and acceptance, and companies usually try to avoid upsetting society. So mainstream tech companies are going to have to decide whether they will be inclusive or if they will continue to fight the tide.”

The variety too is immense. Teledildonics, wearable tech, apps, communities, virtual reality, even educational tools; the adult industry is proving ONCE AGAIN that in terms of inclusivity, tolerance, acceptance and yes… fun… they are leading the way.

But don’t just take our word for it. Many industry leaders and experts are feeling the same positive vibes too.

Steve Thompson, Head of Marketing at LELO, said: “It looks like the adult industry will feature the release of a lot of digital and app-based pleasure products in 2015. While there is potential here, we think this is the year to go back to basics and uncomplicate pleasure objects. With new materials and mechanic technology being developed all the time, we believe that the time is right to reassess the fundamentals of personal pleasure products and refine them, instead of adding on layers of complexity.”

A.V. Flox, well-regarded industry expert and self-styled ‘cultural commentatrix’ believes 2015 will not only see a rise in popularity and application of SexTech, but will also start to bring the environmental debate into it too.

She told BaDoink: “I think people are starting to get really excited about teledildonics and haptic sex, which is what we need to take that technology to the next level. But I don’t think we’re there just yet.

“I think 2015 is going to take conservation awareness into our bedrooms, with more and more toys using eco-friendly materials and more users taking the time to learn how to properly dispose of toys. Last year, I wrote about how difficult it is to recycle old sex toys even here in Silicon Valley, but how Scarlet Girl, a small outfit in Portland, Oregon, is following the steps of more forward-thinking recycling operations in Europe.

“Given the unprecedented popularity of Lelo’s “greenest vibe” Gäsm in 2013 — which turned out to be an April Fool’s joke — and the rise of vegan and other eco-friendly products it’s clear that this market trend is about to hit its stride.”

2015 IS the Year of SexTech and we want you with us from the very start. The following segment forms the first part in a new series we’re rolling out here at BaDoink featuring (spoiler alert: not an all inclusive list!) a sneak peek at the depth and breadth of the startups, business leaders, media influencers, and all the other movers and shakers that are part of the new SexTech revolution.

WEARABLES

We’ve now reached a point where simply viewing erotic video and images is not enough. For some, the act of watching a video presents a form of voyeurism; a window looking in to a moment in time, to be replayed forever at the whim of the user.

But the human pioneering spirit never dies, and a good portion of people always want to go that one step further. Wearables will transform the very physical experience of sex and technology. You can even join in the fun from miles away – across borders and continents.

You’ll know the phrase “wearing your heart on your sleeve”. Well, now you can wear it pretty much wherever you like!

With xSync, the simple act of watching television or a video has now been made unimaginably more fun and creative.

With the help of some choice hardware – a LELO toy, a magic little box called the xSync xO and human ingenuity – make your downtime as memorable as possible.

By signing up with xSync, you are granted access to reams of video content that caters to all tastes and is personally requested by members. By syncing your device up to these videos, you can enjoy every bump, thrust and throb in the flesh along with the lucky guys and gals onscreen.

Like any high-volume info dump that follows a hack and a leak, it can take a while for resourceful treasure hunters and other sifters to come across gold in their pans.

While the brouhaha around The Interview stole the show and took the headlines, some of the other news lurking in the countless emails and memos that spilled from the cup and onto the tabletop is slowly starting to feed back to the rest of us.

So here’s a curious one: it turns out Snapchat counted out a cool $15 million dollars to purchase Vergence Labs in a deal so secret that no public announcement has been made since the purchase in March 2014.

Michael Lynton is both a Sony CEO and Snapchat board member whose emails were compromised in the hack.

Vergence are the creators of Epiphany Eyewear, technology that allows you to your record POV in HD at the touch of a button.

While we posited that with the creation and release of Snapcash, the company were making headways into the SexTech market, for them to potentially join in on the Glass revolution would be another major hint that secretly, Snapchat wants in on the adult biz.

The opportunity for POV porn clips using Epiphany Eyewear is astounding – when combined with Snapchat’s ability to ‘erase’ after ten seconds of viewing and Snapcash’s function to transfer payments… well, it doesn’t take a psychic to work out what kind of delights could soon be on offer.

While we wouldn’t expect to have anything confirmed or even denied by those running the show, there’s no conceivable way a multi-billion dollar business with interests planted in other massive corporations will have failed to foresee this outcome.

One such person not afraid to push her SexTech products into the marketplace is Jennifer McEwen. The co-founder of MiKandi also operates Tits & Glass, the Google Glass app; a product designed to bridge the gaps of sexual interaction.

Tits & Glass offers a fine database of images, POV interplay and the ability for couples, strangers, cam models/clients and any other combination of people to play and explore, even over long distances.

Swooping in to complete our Wearables section are the sexy little geniuses running the show at OhMiBod, whose extensive range of wearable sex aids for almost any occasion are sure to be leading the SexTech conversation in 2015.

The husband and wife team behind OhMiBod have gone beyond being the creators of the original iPod vibrator and become an award-winning business constantly innovating. Their tech-focused products encompass wireless remote control, Bluetooth connectivity and much more besides.

OhMiBod have also designed the insanely remarkable personal massager, with an interface that allows you to not only create your own vibrations that suit both your body and mind, but allows you to experience them time and time again with your other technologies.

Although it is still only early relatively days for wearable technology, the possibilities are ever so tempting. Imagine a world where Tits & Glass users, and other wearable SexTech consumers, can patch into another user’s broadcast, and enjoy THEIR POV. Who needs science fiction anymore?

IMMERSION

The creation of sex robots has long been a bit of a nudge-nudge-wink-wink affair. It’s been a stick used to beat people with before. Imagine the archetypal nerd with his books and comics, getting shoved around by some jock: “Eh, a sex robot’s about the only way you’re gonna get laid, amirite?”

Well here’s the thing about bullies: they’re idiots and almost always packing problems of their own. And given the mind-boggling advances in sexual robotics, ol’ Jockface will be wanting some of that action too!

Sinthetics are one company whose advances are really beginning to bear fruit. The Southern California outfit have not only changed the face of sex figures, but the language too. They don’t deal in simple ‘dolls’; instead they take immense pride in their ‘manikins’, whose lifelike appearances and motions are pushing the boundaries of what we thought was possible in this arena.

Using computer scans, a militaristic attention to detail and appealing to as broad a market as possible, Sinthetics are proving to the world that it doesn’t even have to be a sin, nor does the stigma that has always surrounded such products have to be an albatross on the horizon. You may never have to spend another night of your life alone.

If you find yourself unable or unwilling to generate some atmosphere, why not let the atmosphere come to you? Long-standing and pioneering online adult retailer GameLink want you to do just that – by bringing you full-room 3D virtual porn.

You read right. Long the territory of science fiction, we may see such amazing progress in our lifetime; although not for at least another 10 to 20 years.

Using Microsoft’s RoomAlive technology, users may ‘soon’ be able to quite literally throw themselves into the deep end and experience three-dimensional, life-like and life-size digital pornography. With the adult biz constantly showing themselves of early adopters of the most cutting-edge technology, we could likely see the industry blazing a trail once more.

That other fantastic advance in immersion, Oculus Rift, the VR headset that is gaining some genuine momentum and traction, will be getting more familiar with porn in the coming year.

Already boasting titles such as Chathouse 3D, Sinful Robot and a lot, lot more, Oculus Rift has been well and truly embraced by the adult industry. Virtual Real Porn are releasing content starring BaDoink favorite Amarna Miller and more is on the horizon.

Oculus Rift porn truly is a feast for the senses. Stereoscopic 3D and crystal clear sound and vision means the gap between realities could close just that little bit more. But when it’s this good does it even matter anymore?

HEALTH & FITNESS

Sex and porn isn’t just about the pleasure and gratification you may feel, or at least seek. It’s also about being health conscious, partners making the correct choices and having a helluva lot of fun along the way.

Sustain Condoms are not only concerned about your sexual health (and any unwanted little bundles of joy you may conjure up!) but they do so ethically. This father-daughter business sell products certified both Fair Trade and vegan, among many other certifications, and see their business as not just a condom store, but as part of a wider movement concerned with social justice and equality; essentially, sexual freedom in safe environments.

Amidst all of this tech, machines and apps geared towards unforgettable moments, Sustain are taking the more organic and humanist approach.

Pico Bong’s mission statement runs thus: “WE PROMISE TO MARINATE YOU IN WIT, SHOCK YOU WITH A RISQUÉ SENSE OF HUMOR AND KEEP YOU ON YOUR TOES WITH AN ENDLESS CACHE OF INNOVATION.”

…and if that doesn’t catch your attention, then nothing will!

Pico Bong’s Transformer has already been given the Golden Seal of Approval by BaDoink and our sexpert Lola Lovely. The contraption offers both a workout, gym-wise and sexually, and their other products promise life-long guarantees and the chance to keep your body, pelvic muscles and all, in tip-top shape for the bedroom and everywhere else you go in life!

Mauricio Garcia, Pico Bong’s Head of Marketing sees big things for his company and SexTech in 2015.

He said: Given the strength of the sex-positive community in 2014, we predict that 2015 will see that strength starting to influence the mainstream more and more. Our own sex toys will be leading that march, offering pleasure products specifically designed to make no assumptions about the users’ gender or sexuality. The result will be an influx of incredibly versatile sex toys for all audiences and all purposes all at once. It goes without saying that this will require some incredibly clever designs, and THAT will be the defining trend of 2015.”

London-based Hot Octopuss are making bold claims too. They are telling the world that their PULSE toy will do for male masturbatory aids what the Rampant Rabbit did for women all those years ago.

Male sex aids still carry a particular stigma in some quarters, but the fog is starting to lift for many. So not only are Hot Octopuss concerning themselves with quality products that come replete with the latest scientific innovations, but they’re also affecting social change. Feeling sexually repressed can cause any number of problems down the line, so let the boys at Hot Octopuss help.

Our own Dan Gutierrez tried out the PULSE recently, and it looks like it’s going to be a sure-fire winner!

…and hey, when you find such a wide spread of mainstream companies doing their utmost to ensure your sexual needs as well and mental and physical comfort are being met, then let’s talk!

In their own words, Minna Life “is a team of designers, engineers, and health experts who share a sense of frustration with the lack of well-designed, high quality sexual health products available.”

Their so-called Pleasure Principles (Gary Numan represent!) demand control, pleasure together and respect for the body. With products such as the kgoal, for pelvic floor exercises, and the limon, that uses their innovative ‘squeeze technology’ to create products designed for those spontaneous occasions.

SOCIAL SEX

The rise of social media means that now more than ever, humanity is becoming more and more closely connected. Not only do networks such as Facebook and Twitter allow users to spill every unfiltered thought and action in the abyss, but they also allow you to organize, follow and be on the cusp of the latest trends, discoveries and inventions.

Naturally, these attributes have been identified by and adapted for adult entertainment purposes. As much as mainstream social networks allow you to filter down the chatter in order to find interests and tastes specific to you, the same is happening within the adult sphere.

Social Sex are one such company. Unlike other dating/casual sex social sites, that give you broad spectrum to play with that might not yield the results you want, Social Sex allow you to filter down your needs and wants almost to the letter.

You want to meet somebody who isn’t that into oral? Great, you’ll find them here! Love missionary in an elevator with somebody who is also really into rimming? You’ll find them here too! It’s a small word after all.

Instagram and other photo-based social networks have given impetus to the likes of Uplust, a photo-upload site that promises free, uncensored user-based content 24/7.

It’s a simple premise, and one that you will be used to already. Sign up (for free!), then simply browse the pictures on offer, follow your favorite users, post your own naughty pics. Uplust is indeed on the up. Get in on the ground floor now before the elevator becomes too crowded.

As much as Uplust asks you to be upfront with yourself and others, Gasm is taking the discussions and all the rest of it to you!

Gasm provides a candid, social and educational experience for its users. From forums on sexual health, best use of sex aids, how to address fantasies and just general chit-chat, Gasm has everything for the discerning sexual creature.

Couple that with a steady stream of articles and other useful updates, this is one network you need to patch yourself into ASAP!

But how about a social network that is no longer based in reality? Yes, yes, some would say Facebook long lost their grip on what constitutes reality some time ago, but we’re talking full digital access to another world.

Who remembers Second Life? Yeah, it was pretty lame in hindsight, but such early adopters wouldn’t have given inspiration to the likes of Utherverse, whose 3D social center for adults perfectly captures one of the next big leaps in SexTech.

Cindy Gallop is the brains behind Make Love Not Porn, the real world sex site that has turned Cindy into one of the leading authorities on SexTech. As her mantra states: Changing the world through sex. We’re pro-sex, pro-porn, pro-knowing the difference.

Her site takes a progressive view towards the need to cultivate frank and open discussions on the topic, with the aim being to inspire healthier sexual and inter-personal relationships.

The results speak for themselves. The website is replete with testimonies from users who have sought advice from Cindy and Make Love Not Porn; those in dire need of help, those who are confused and those simply new to the whole experience.

Cindy has taken the length and breadth of her experience in advertising – the keen eye, robust frankness and always looking for that next golden opportunity – and applied it to an area always in need of fresh impetus: making sex socially acceptable by changing the conversation and creating a more sex positive culture.

With makelovenotporn.tv now in beta, Cindy is expanding the operation and the early results are more than promising. Join the #realworldsex revolution!

Jen McEwen believes social sex is facing a bright future simply because the adult market is catering to the tenets of supply and demand. She notes the trend of consumers flocking to “anti-Facebook, anonymous services and apps like Snapchat, Yik Yak and Secret.”

She maintains that should the mainstream market wish to compete, or simply progress, they will have to meet the social sex pioneers halfway.

“These companies will have come to terms with that and adapt to this new world of open expression, or lose customers to another company who will.”

SMART SEX

Smart sex, like good sex, is about moving above and beyond the physical limits of sex. It’s about engaging the brain, adapting your lives and discovering practical solutions to your desires and latent satisfaction.

Step forward then Vibease, who state that their modes of sex and sexuality are not about the end result, but the journey itself thanks the world’s FIRST smart vibrator.

The premise is simple: Connect your Vibease vibrator to your smartphone, select a fantasy story that suits your current mood and let the rhythms inside your head travel down your body to the most important places.

…but while a good number of us are fortunate enough to live in a (relatively) free society, spare a thought for the hundreds of millions across the world who may not enjoy the same privileges as you or I.

For too long, oppressive regimes, cultures and religions have sought to demonize sex, masturbation and sexual self-expression to the point where many are afraid to even discuss it. A lack of education in such matters can lead to harm, disease, unwanted pregnancy and serious crime.

Happy Playtime is one product hoping to weigh in on this problem, and offer users a chance to educate themselves about their own bodies, needs and habits.

Long story short: Happy Playtime is a sex education game whose aim is to eliminate the stigma around female masturbation. Their mascot is Happy, “your friendly neighborhood vulva”.

Deeming masturbation “a fundamental life lesson”, Happy Playtime offers anatomical advice, tips and tricks on how to achieve the most from your own body and teaches users not to be ashamed of their impulses.

Well, it’s hard to think of a smarter use for an app, is there?

There is no doubt that we could write about five times as much on the movers and shakers in SexTech, and who else to watch out for this year, but we hope this guide is a great starting point for all of you; experts, consumers or just simply curious.

Over the year BaDoink will be meeting with, profiling and getting the latest from these pioneering companies.

Just remember this: sex is now not limited to this world. There’s a whole Universe to explore now… so suit up and go into hyperdrive!