Lady Friday was intrigued by Fundawear, Durex’s new experiment in long-distance stimulation – using underwear sensors powered by smartphones. So she tracked them down and asked the questions we’re all dying to know…
Durex Fundawear’s prototype has been taking over the internet. The underwear with sensors in sensitive areas, which pulse when activated by smartphone, is a huge sensation.
Why? Because Fundawear is for long-distance couples – and keeping the intimacy in a relationship separated by seas is one of the biggest difficulties in modern sexual life.
Fundawear is still only in its very early stages. One Australian couple will get the chance to road-test the underwear – visit Durex’s Facebook page if you’d like to be the ones picked – but mass production is still a long way off. So don’t start picking out colours and checking your bank account just yet.
In the meantime, though, Lady Friday gave Durex the tough questions about how Fundawear works, whether it’s suitable for you, and what this means for the whole sex toy industry as a whole…
Lady Friday: So, how does the technology behind Fundawear work?
Durex: Fundawear combines existing and new technologies to create a brand new way of transferring touch over the Internet. Fundawear takes touch input from one partner via their touch screen smartphone and sends these signals via a special real-time server to their partners’ smartphone device.
From here it is transferred through to touch actuators inside the Fundawear garment where the touch sensation is recreated on the skin. It all happens in a split second so the experience is very intuitive.
Lady Friday: Can the sensors pick up the differing pressures of touch as well as the patterns on the smartphone screen?
Durex: The position of the touch actuators in the garment are represented by circles in the Fundawear app for the male and the female touch areas.
The more pressure and movement you place on the circles the more the actuators will vibrate. You can use multiple fingers and also create patterns with the circles.
Lady Friday: What makes Fundawear stand out from other remotely controlled vibrators?
Durex: Well, for starters this is not a traditional vibrator, this is a stimulated touch. Instead of just applying direct vibration to the genital areas, this technology aims to replicate touch – in fact the user is able to control and tailor the intensity of the sensation.
The intent of a vibrator is for direct sexual pleasure whether it is via a remote or not. The initial intent of Fundawear is to increase intimacy between two partners remotely when they can’t physically be together. If you feel sexual pleasure that it is just a bonus of the technology.
Lady Friday: Can Fundawear be hooked up for man-man, woman-woman and multiple-partner use?
Durex: Fundawear has initially been designed to connect two partners regardless of gender mix and there’s no reason why it couldn’t be expanded to work for multiple partner experiences. This is just the beginning for Fundawear.
Now that the technology has been created and tested in the public, the possibilities are endless for different types of relationships, sexual and non sexual.
Lady Friday: Long-distance intimacy aids are a big trend, with sex toys that use the technology of the Nintendo Wii, pillows that pulse with lovers’ distant heartbeats and other inventions. Are long-distance relationships the new sex frontier?
Durex: There will always be new technology aimed at increasing connection during long distance relationships but I think the new sex frontier is how to use technology to connect in general, not just in long distance relationships.
We spend so much time on our emails, FB, twitter and with our head in our smartphones. Because of these technical advances, connection and intimacy are two things that can really suffer in a relationship. Instead of always trying to get people to switch off, many are attempting to help couples connect using these avenues and Fundawear is a perfect example of this.
Think about how many hours we spend with our iPhone in hand? Now think of the benefits of connecting with our partner with that iPhone!
Lady Friday: So, a practical question. How should one care for and clean Fundawear?
Durex: At the moment Fundawear is prototype so it’s not wash n’ wear ready, however it has been designed so the electronics are removable and the fabric part of the garment can be hand-washed. In full-scale production Fundawear would be washable with waterproof electronics embedded inside.
So there you have it – a prototype for an intimacy aid that will foster communication, touch and possibly pleasure over great distances. Studies show that couples who touch one another regularly are far more likely to maintain closeness and stay together long-term, so this technology serves a real need.
Problems we’re still mulling over? What happens if the Internet connection is suddenly severed and you’re left mid-writhe – and how can you stop a mischievous partner touching you in places you don’t like?
Would you enjoy Fundawear as a part of your regular intimate arsenal? Leave your comments in the section below…
Lady Friday xx
Taking the pillow talk out of the bedroom, every Friday…
