User Evaluation of the Neurodildo: A Mind-Controlled Sex Toy for People with Disabilities and an Exploration of Its Applications to Sex Robots

In this paper, we present the Neurodildo, a sex toy remotely controlled by brain waves, which is pressure sensitive and has electrical stimulation (e-stim) feedback. The Neurodildo was originally presented as a conference paper at the 3rd International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots (2017). We designed and explored the application of a mind-controlled sex toy for the people with mobility disabilities, for example with spinal cord injury (SCI), who have difficulty handling a commercial toy and that might experience difficulties in a sexual encounter. The system consists of the sex toy with Bluetooth and sensors, the brain-computer interface (BCI) headset, the e-stim device, and a computer for running the necessary software. The first user wears the headset and the e-stim device, and by focusing in trained patterns, he/she can control the vibration of the sex toy. The pressure applied to the sex toy by the second user is measured by sensors and transmitted and converted to the first user, who feels muscle contractions. We discuss the design process, the limitations of the prototype and how evaluating the user requirements is necessary for a better product. We also included a background and discussion on the application of sex robots for assisting disabled people and how the Neurodildo could be integrated with this futuristic technology. The goal of this project is to design a sex toy that might help people with disabilities and people in long-distance relationships (LDR), trying to fill the gap of sex toys designed for people with disabilities