With China facing a massive gender gap and a greying population, a company wants to hook up lonely men and retirees with a new kind of companion: “Smart” sex dolls that can talk, play music and turn on dishwashers.
The company, EXDOLL has ambitions to apply artificial intelligence to make dolls so life-like that they could cure loneliness and care for the elderly and handicapped.
China also has a rapidly ageing population, which is putting strains on the healthcare and social welfare system.
The sex doll fitted with a wifi function similar to the iPhone’s Siri application, can surf the internet and respond to voice commands. It can turn home appliances that are connected to the wifi on and off.
Users can control the $4 000 doll with a phone app or by giving it oral instructions – much pricier than the traditional sex dolls that the company sells for less than $400.
In the next year, EXDOLL hopes to roll out more advanced robots featuring artificial intelligence technology, complex facial expressions and body movements, voice recognition systems and eyes that can follow people’s movements.
Agencies
