For those interested in the open source side of interactive toys, check out:

http://buttplug.io (NSFW)

We're working on a fully open source, cross platform, cross hardware system for supporting things like this. All of our code is up on github (http://github.com/metafetish), and we have a server in C# (mainly due to Windows being our best MVP platform, typescript/javascript on the way soon with WebBluetooth for all platforms supported by that), with clients in javascript and C#, and Go, Rust, and Python on the way soon.

Our protocol layout documentation is at:

https://metafetish.github.io/buttplug/ (SFW outside of wording, just text and some flow charts)

We currently support the Fleshlight Launch, Kiiroo Onyx, the full line of Lovense toys, and even XInput gamepads. I've already reversed a ton of other toys (KGoal, Vorze, WeVibe, RealTouch, etc...), so those will be coming in later versions, we're just trying to reach v1 right now.

We're still a bit out from our first release, but we're always interested in contributors from all levels and backgrounds, from Bluetooth/USB reverse engineering up through frontend.

If you're interested in how all of this stuff works, from the hardware all the way to the web services, I did a full teardown and explanation of the Fleshlight Launch and Feelme service on my youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA7MdO0rEoo

Can't imagine the operations over at a place like Pornhub - "Hey Bob, our teledildonic websocket latency keeps spiking, see if you can't lock it down."

When the 90's dotcom boom first started to slow down, a friend of mine joked that we'd all end up working at porn sites if things didn't turn around. Fast forward almost a decade later to 2005, and I was working as a .NET engineer at the company that ran NakedSword.com* (as well as a few dozen other sites).

Now I make a proactive effort to track both my job security and the job market so I'll know when the optimal time is to go back into working in porn.

*NSFW. Duh.

Does anyone have any idea on how these sites make enough money to offset the enormous bandwidth costs? The scale is phenomenal.

My understanding of the current porn industry is that mindgeek have cornered the market in video via pornhub and all their other online destinations, and that all that 'free' content that is a click away is ripped off from publishing houses.

I have no idea how the porn business still makes money since everything seems to be free these days, but this interactive aspect seems a good way for some kind of commercial, fee paying service that interacts with hardware devices?

There are people on this thread who are in the industry, is my perception accurate or did I misunderstand the market?

Today's secret word is "teledildonics"! :D

It seems a bit of a stretch to call these toys 'interactive'. Interactive means responding to input; in these examples, the punters' sexjars are passive broadcast receivers, not input devices. They aren't feeding back to the performer. Or to each other - P2P [1] communication would be an interesting application here.

[1] perv-to-perv

3D printers for this industry can turn into a huge thing, right? Being able to print replicas of somebody else's member can represent a whole new revenue stream.

All the talk about latency has me wondering if the work here is eventually going to push telemedicine forward. Maybe a first aid kit that contains a tele-dressing kit that can be used by a remote worker to perform minor but intricate procedures?

I'd be interesting to know what a typical day looks like for a developer at PornHub. You must become immune to pornography after a while I imagine

My vision is becoming reality.

I'm selling jackulusrift.com if anyone is interested.

“So you guys will post about PORNHUB but won't promote startups with no funding or backdoor channel to TC journalist.. Clap for yourselves”

“So you guys will post about PORNHUB but won't promote startups with no funding or backdoor channel to TC journalist.. Clap for yourselves”

Paves the way for... what, precisely?

This whole idea of "virtualizing" and "democratizing" (read; corporatizing and monetizing) what is already probably the most intense physical and interpersonal experience you can already have; an experience that's not only freely available, but literally at your fingertips, at any time (or not even that: you just need to close your eyes, and think of... entertaining thoughts) -- is profoundly, profoundly depressing.

And besides, with all these must, dead-trees 17th- 20th century smut novels to read -- who can possibly find the time?

Forget this online stuff. Get out of your apartment, and find a real, actual person to talk to. I know it can seem hard, sometimes. But really, is isn't.