The Only Vibrator Company at CES on the Future of Sex

Until 2012, the largest porn convention, the Adult Entertainment Expo, coincided with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, inspiring countless quips about the two spectacles converging on the city at the same time.

When Brian and Suki Dunham first brought their sex toy company OhMiBod to CES six years ago, they were on the tail end of these jokes, getting some side eye from fellow exhibitors.

"People used to say, kind of tongue-in-cheek, 'Aren't you at the wrong show?' even though we were trying to separate ourselves from porn," Suki told me as she showed me some of OhMiBod's latest goods at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.

CES continually tries to distance itself from the sex tech once included in its origins, but Suki said that as quantifying all aspects of health becomes more mainstream, OhMiBod has carved out a spot for itself at the electronics showcase. People are beginning to find sex tracking apps just as normal as gadgets that monitor our steps, weight, and sleep.

"What is very exciting is that people see us as more legitimate because the culture in general is embracing the fact sexual health is just as important as any other part of your health," she said. "This is just another part of your life to measure and track."

This year, OhMiBod remains the lone sex toy purveyor at CES. It is debuting a smart kegel toy and an accompanying app that gamifies intimacy in a way that seems natural, not forced. Its 'Lovelife Krush,' a Bluetooth-enabled smart Kegel exerciser, works by using vibration feedback and a visual, voice-guided training app to help women strengthen pelvic floor (PC) muscles. These exercises aim to help women whose pelvic floor has been weakened due to childbirth or age, and strengthen orgasms. The toy syncs with TASL, an interactive sexual health and well-being app that offers customized workouts and encourages intimacy as well as classic vibrator capabilities.

"You have reminders to work out, why not have a reminder to masturbate, or do your kegel exercises, or be intimate with your partner?" Suki said. "That was the overarching idea of TASL, which stands for 'the art and science of love.'"

The app is secure and password-protected, storing most user workout data on the device, and scrubbing user information from any data stored remotely. There are several training programs on the app for different levels, including 'first timer,' 'new mom,' and 'mom-to-be.' The programs lead users through the exercises and score them on different categories, like the number of reps and strength. The app sets daily goals for users, and once they hit certain levels, different "pleasure pattern" vibrations are unlocked as an incentive.

"This is kind of the gamification aspect––you do all these workouts, and you need a reward," Suki said. "TASL encourages these exercises, and puts the keys to better sexual health directly in users' hands."

The Lovelife Krush retails for $129 but is on sale for $75 for a limited time.