Augmented Reality – The Next Obvious Step For Porn (NSFW-ish)
Augmented reality making a place for itself in the porn industry is pretty much inevitable. History has proved time and time again that with any new or rising technology, adult entertainment will always be at the forefront looking for ways to best capitalize.
Let’s rewind some 40-50 years ago to the 1970’s. Porn was dominating the VHS market with around 50% of all tapes being adult themed.
Image source: http://koko-rokoko.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-back-room-odd-obsession-at.html
The birth of the world wide web in the late 1980’s was the next major leap for adult film (although the first porn site didn’t appear until the mid 90’s when a man named Gary Kremen registered sex.com).
Image source: https://web.archive.org/web/19961226112529/http://sex.com/
Firstly, we were introduced to adult images, later evolving in to the ‘tube site’ generation we see today which has seen an explosion of seemingly unlimited free content on demand.
2013 was like a punch in the face when we saw the birth of virtual reality porn. This offered a whole new way of experiencing adult content entirely.
Pornhub has reported that they receive 500k views a day for VR content. In fact, the market has become so strong that from a reported 150 million VR users worldwide, experts believe that adult entertainment now accounts for around half of that market.
What’s more, by 2025, it is estimated that VR porn will generate $1 billion in revenue, up from $18 million in 2017.
With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that porn companies are exploring augmented reality as another form of streaming adult content and some have already developed some AR apps that we can try right now.
‘Hardcore’ by CamasutraVR
Image source: Camasutravr.com
One of the first AR porn apps was ‘HARdcore’ (NSFW) released by adult VR company CamasutraVR at the start of 2018. While only a demo, this gave users the chance to see AR porn in action straight from their smartphones.
The app features two digitally created adult stars (1 male and 1 female) whom we can position in our physical environment. The models are in 3D and come with a bunch of different erotic animations to choose from.
Image source: camasutravr.com
Using our smartphones, we can position them anywhere around us where there is a flat, horizontal surface. In true 3D AR, we can walk around the models and watch them from any angle we wish as the scene unfolds.
The models have been created inside a dome of 142 high resolution cameras while posing a variety of different positions. This information is then is stitched into a full body scan, which the company then uses to create digital avatars that resemble and mimic the movements of the performer.
Image source: camasutravr.com
I managed to try the app and was pretty blown away to see them just appear in my bedroom out of thin air. The graphics aren’t perfect but as I find myself moving around these life-sized 3D models performing in front of my very eyes, the potential of AR porn as graphics and technology advances is crystal clear. Imagine inviting some of our favourite pornstars around to our homes to put on our very own private show… This is AR porn.
Why Hasn’t AR Porn Taken Off Yet?
One word, technology.
Mixed reality, or, AR headsets such as Hololens 2 and Magicleap still remain expensive, developer and enterprise additions. And although smartphones have become more capable of running AR software thanks to frameworks ARKit and ARCore, AR technology is still very much in its infancy, therefore creating realistic and immersive augmented reality porn experiences just isn’t possible yet.
Image source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/24/tech/microsoft-hololens-2/index.html
Once we have passed the ‘investment’ stages and developers have a better handle with the new access and ecosystems, then we can start to see some serious growth in the AR space. Many are saying that 2021 will be the year augmented reality takes off so this could reflect when we see some steady growth in the adult space also.
For now, there are around 7 or 8 different apps/videos we can try with a mix of 3D content, as well as 2D videos such an AR striptease featuring adult star Susy Gala.
What Does the Future Hold for AR Porn?
When we read or discuss augmented reality, we hear time and time again that the possibilities are literally quite endless. And guess what, porn is no different.
Augmented reality unlocks another dimension in the way we can experience adult entertainment. Like mentioned above, with AR porn, you can stand up and move around the models, seeing everything happen as you please. Just like a real-life scenario, only AR will give us the choice of some of the most attractive women in the adult industry.
Headset based AR porn will obviously be the dominating viewing experience. Cardboard headsets such as Holokit which can be used directly with our smartphones will become a popular choice due to their affordability and practicality, similar to Google cardboard for VR porn which is the second most popular choice after GearVR, accounting for 23% of all VR headsets used for streaming porn.
Image source: https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/02/holokit-is-like-google-cardboard-for-augmented-reality/
Aside from the viewing experience, features such as artificial intelligence are now becoming a part of augmented reality porn. One small Florida based company, 3D Holo Girlfriend, is setting out to develop artificially intelligent holographic girlfriends that we can actually have conversations with.
Image source: 3dhologirlfriend.com
The same company is also in partnerships with sex doll manufacturers DS Doll Robotics. The two adult tech companies announced last November that they are in the process of developing erotic AR holograms that can be overlaid on to the robot, essentially making it more interactive and lifelike.
Image source: dsdollrobotics.com and 3dhologirlfriend.com
AI features are very basic at this stage and we’re still waiting to head more about sex robot AR overlay’s since the partnership was first announced. But all in all, some incredibly interesting concepts to look forward to in the future.
https://virtualrealitytimes.com/2019/04/17/augmented-reality-the-next-obvious-step-for-porn-nsfw-ish/https://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/virtualrealitytimes-AR-porn-main-2-arporntube-600x267.pnghttps://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/virtualrealitytimes-AR-porn-main-2-arporntube-150x90.pngAR PornAugmented RealityAR pornAugmented reality making a place for itself in the porn industry is pretty much inevitable. History has proved time and time again that with any new or rising technology, adult entertainment will always be at the forefront looking for ways to best capitalize. Let's rewind some 40-50 years ago...Ashley WalkerAshley Walker[email protected]SubscriberVirtual Reality Times - Metaverse & VR