The future of virtual cuddles

JohnR1972

I was doing some research for an upcoming presentation I will be giving about the universal need for genuine human connection / sense of belonging, and how bad actors such as cat fishers, cults and cyber bullies can exploit these human needs to prey on vulnerable people.

I was reading up on issues related to children using various social media platforms including Discord and VR Chat when I ran across some information about whole body haptic suits.

The best suits today are pretty expensive but like all new tech, the price will drop as the tech matures.

The state of the art full body suits are the Tesla body suits that sell for $13,000.

https://teslasuit.io/products/teslasuit-4/

The more affordable devices are the bhaptics vests (shown off at CES 2023 in Las Vegas last week) which can be ordered for just $500 and the bhaptics gloves for $300.

https://www.bhaptics.com/tactsuit/tactsuit-x40

Using these devices, 2 people in different countries could “touch” each other as they talk to each other in virtual reality.

Just curious what everyone thinks about the potential in the near future to have virtual cuddles with partners in other states using this tech.

Melancholy

Oh I mean maybe as a novelty I might try something like that but I think the technology is hundreds of years off from where that would be a proper replacement for human touch. It would be like holding hands with someone wearing thick gloves.
You need to be able to sense their body heat. The way they smell. The texture of their hair and skin when it touches yours.
Anyone who cuddles regularly knows that skin contact is kind of magical. How would you get that with these suits?

Mike403

We'll be dead by the time the technology is good enough. VR is good for flight simulators and stuff like that. It can't replicate human touch. Maybe we'll be closer to it by the time our great grand kids are adults.

I want this so I can pet my cat when I’m not at home. That’s the technology we should invest in.

Mike403

@CatGirlColorado - Your cat isn't gonna be comfortable wearing a haptic suit...lol

BrianL

Even if they got the technology to the point where it was passable today, it'd still be reserved for only those who can afford it. Yet another luxury item to separate the haves and the have-nots.

Mike403

@BrianL - VR headsets used to be expensive and you also needed a powerful PC to operate it. The Quest and Quest 2 changed that.

OhioMike

Oh yeah this is definitely the near future. As much as peeps say they want person to person contact I think one can see examples everywhere that is maybe not what they actually , actually want.

Examples are just about everywhere from how schooling is done now. To how we get groceries.at home instead of shopping. To how we stay home and watch movies instead of theaters or sporting events

I mean honestly whether it’s good or bad is immaterial I think. Society seems to not want or need or whatever word can be inserted here , to interact personally on levels of daily life. To me it’s just an evolvement good or bad of what “we “ want interaction with fellow humans to be

So yeah the “suits “ seem like a natural progression to what society in future will want for more and more personal convenience, Just my thoughts 🤔

Now I also think that sites like this will be ok just very niche. Like “oh you actually touched a real person! Wow ! “ That’s. So cool

Mike403

@OhioMike - Home schooling is just watching a video stream and submitting work online. That technology existed for a couple decades. Touching and smelling a real person virtually is still a long ways off.

OhioMike

@Mike403 sure but home schooling was in the minority. Now it’s very mainstream. We don’t even have snow days in ohio anymore. They are virtual days

But my main point is socially we are evolving in my opinion to less and less human in person interactions And I’m not saying it’s bad … or good … just you know different times

Mike403

@OhioMike - Because they never really took the effort to implement it until pandemic forced them to. The technology has been there for a long time though. My job wasn't set up for work at home pre-Covid, now it's a permanent arrangement.

BrianL

@Mike403 We have different definitions of expensive, clearly. $400 (on Amazon for Quest2) for a headset is prohibitively expensive for me. And frankly, the idea of it doesn't even appeal to me, so even if I were given one for free, I'd still turn it down.

Yeah, I'm not someone you will find in the "metaverse".

OhioMike

@Mike403 yep I agree

Do you like working now at home or do you miss human to human interactions , if you had them , that were at your work ?

Mike403

@BrianL - That's the cost of a game console. You aren't buying a hot dog.

BrianL

@Mike403 And? My newest game console is a PS4, and I still have a working PS2 and GameCube. With my bills and other expenses (like just found out today that I need a new catalytic converter), it'll take me months of saving up specifically for that specific purpose, and that's after I pay off the loan I got, which in and of itself will take months. Plus, if there's nothing on a VR headset that I would want to do, that's money down the drain. Going to the full suit mentioned by OP, that'd be $800 (minimum) just to "cuddle", and in many cases likely "cuddle" a pro that you are paying a couple hundred more for on top of the cost of the gear.

Mike403

@BrianL - Your comment made it seem like it's only reserved for the wealthy elite. That $13k suit is. Any portable computer tech cost hundreds of dollars.

JohnR1972

In a few years, those $13,000 suits will be $2,500 (probably about what the most expensive iPhone or Apple’s soon to be released VR headset will cost in 2027).

About that same time, the newest suits will be able to replicate body heat. Skin / hair texture and body scent will be another decade (2 decades at the most). I’ve not seen any proprietary plans but I have helped develop “technology roadmaps” for a medical device company related to wound care and this is my best guess of how the body suit technology will mature.

These body suits are already causing some ethical issues within sub communities in VR Chat. You can already “touch” someone today (you feel their stomach in your glove and they feel your hand on their stomach) as you look at each other’s avatar and see where each others’ hands are.

Since you are looking at avatars rather than real video, how can you know for sure if the person you are “touching” is over 18? Consent issues quickly go downhill from there as some abusers have been manipulating victims on VR Chat.

Like every other technology, this is neither inherently good or inherently evil, it is just another tool for mankind to use (and invariably abuse).

I see it having the POTENTIAL for good, just as it also has the potential for abuse (addiction, remote human trafficking, etc.). The only thing for certain is that it is coming, it is just a question of how soon, how advanced, and how expensive.

teddybear888

@JohnR1972 Don’t forget augmented reality, holograms. Those, along with the haptic suits…. I think the future will be very intriguing. Medical training. Learning massage therapy remotely ? Training in surgeries ? Self defense training. Remote doctor visits. Studying history like assassins creed lol. Visiting historical sites or experiencing exhibits like night at the museum. Preserving vocal, haptic, visual interactions with family members even after they have passed. Architecture design or engineering along with 3D printers just like iron man. I tell ya, the future is exciting.

teddybear888

I think, honestly, this is why Zuckerberg had invested in meta so much. He sees the move from brick & mortar to virtual. VR, AR, et cetera will allow a executive to be in the boardroom in Reykjavik from their beach house on Kauai.

sweetNsnuggly

Nothing will ever come close enough to the real thing.
I wish people would stop asking me for virtual sessions on this cuddle forum. It's like the opposite of the whole point, to me.
Humans>robots!
Nothing can replace true physical + energetic connection.
We are meant to be close with other humans, not technology.
Anyway, who wants to cuddle?

teddybear888

@sweetNsnuggly i would love to, but….. distance.

Mike403

Some people like virtual sessions. I don't understand it myself. If I just wanted to talk to somebody, I'd call my therapist.

Nobodieshero

The metaverse is a joke, VR chat or even Rec Room are way more advanced than Zuckerbergs crappy Facebook horizons

Mike403

How did Suckerberg manage to sink billions into something that looks like an early Nintendo Wii game?

Nobodieshero

Lol I know right. I was one of the early testers of Facebook horizons and it has never been impressive. It has that heavily moderated feel just like fb. VR chat at least it feels like you can do whatever and no one will ban you. Supposedly it's gotten a little better but honestly it always seemed incredibly boring to me. Even the people on it are boring. I had more fun talking to people on Big screen.

PrettyLuv

I could definitely see VR taking over for online interactions in the next 10 yrs. It makes sense. Movie theaters will become obsolete. You could go watch a movie with your date in the VR. I don’t think it will replace actual touch, but it’ll either be used to enhance or come as close to it as possible to experience it. And unlike our reality, the barriers are virtually non-existent because the characters aren’t human. I just wonder what the social/ethical bleed off will be as I’m sure there’ll be lots to experience or get influenced by in that realm.

AGnihon

@OhioMike good point, however there is a difference. We try to avoid people in public places like stores or public transport where we might come into contact with gross, dangerous, loud, or unhygienic people we did not plan for. It's really pretty random who we might come across in places like that. In cuddling, we get to choose strangers who we think we will prefer, thus it's not that we don't want contact, we just want more control over the circumstances of it.

Mike403

Not cuddling related, but this looks like fun if you want to experience VR (the whole works with haptic suits, etc...). It's kind of pricey though. They charge $50-55 per person per game.

http://www.sandboxvr.com