OhMiBod
OhMyBod was located in a section of display booths surrounded by purveyors of 3-D printing technology. In charge of the booth and owners of the company were Suki and Brian Dunham who operate their business from New Hampshire. Their products were displayed under the Love Life Toys brand. When queried as to how the business began, Brian ventured that he and his wife were perhaps the first to introduce vibration technology into personal assistance devices. They mated an iPod to a vibrator and wired it to vibrate in coordination with the music being played on the iPod.
According to Suki, the current line of products “continue the development of personal products which communicate with partners so they can both enjoy and participate in the experience”. LoveLife connected devices allow for control of the product by either the user or the user’s partner, both locally through Bluetooth or at a distance through Wi-Fi. For example, both the Blue Motion G spot massager and the panty vibe can be controlled by the wearer or by the wearer’s partner or can be tuned to music input. The partner can even hear the heartbeat of their significant other as that person uses the device.
Brian and Suki have been coming to CES for several years. They attend the show to interact with customers, get feedback and new business, and because it is good PR.
Naughty America
Naughty America was found in a conference room along the periphery of the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. It operates under the NADRL acronym which stands for Naughty America Digital Reality Lab. Your reporter spoke with Ian Paul the CIO. As would be expected from his job title, Ian was happy to provide information and product demonstrations. Naughty America markets software and content to be used with a Virtual Reality headset. Oculus technology was first shown at CES in 2015. Naughty America asked “What could we do with the technology?” They purchased the technology, tested it, and added IP and design choice to develop a device in which the wearer appears to be the actor in the same scene projected within the headset. One choice made was to make it a 360 degree experience which has been well received.
The technology and content can be adapted to any headset so sales of content and software produced by Naughty America are limited by the number of virtual reality headsets in circulation and the number of headsets users who purchase this type of content. Although he did not want to give a specific number Ian agreed that the percentage was not small.
Due to new legal requirements imposed by Los Angeles County, the filming of the scenes for the Naughty America’s technology has moved primarily to Las Vegas. That is where the next generation of technology, which was also on display, is being developed. With that new technology, a scene selected by the user can be privately integrated on the display on the user’s existing devices. For example scenes can be added during a video chat or video conference on an iPad, phone or computer. The newest iteration of the technology is to mate the headset with a standard TV output. Thus, with a VR headset, the user can watch, for example, a football game being broadcast on TV along with a super imposed scene of the user’s selection. All without disturbing someone else who might be watching TV or want to watch a different channel.
When asked, Ian replied that they look for new technology to integrate with their products, watch for developments in VR technology and demonstrate their technology. They have a good working relationship with CES.
Miscellaneous
Partially in answer to the question posed earlier regarding the interest or lack thereof of attendees at CES in the pleasures of the flash, this reporter was provided with information that Sherries Ranch, the high end brothel in Pahrump, Nevada which caters to men women and couples, experiences a 70% increase in business during the week of the CES show.
Controversy at CES
While widely reported in other media this reporter would be remiss in not addressing the controversy that arose with respect to a another sex tech company at CES. The Consumer Technology Association, which produces CES, awarded Lora Haddock’s Ose female personal pleasure device an Innovation Award. For reasons that are not clear to and have not been investigated by this reporter, both the Innovation Award and the participation of Haddock’s company in CES were cancelled by CTA.
Respectfully submitted Bill Steffin reporting for the Hollywood Times
 |
|
