LOS ANGELES — Now crowdsourcing is the Comingle Multivibrating Open-source Dildo, “Mod,” which works off a modified Arduino-based board and was designed to be the “most hackable” sex toy ever.
The standard model comes ready-to-use out of the box with a Wii Nunchuck, but the toy is built to accept any sensor that can be plugged into USB.
According to FastCompany.com reporter David Lumb, the developers at Comingle went to great lengths to test the Mod out with heartbeat sensors, music, paddles, video chat, your pulse or voice — and even a banana.
Graduate research in the jungles of Panama and quirky robotics experiments reportedly inspired Comingle co-Founder Andrew Quitmeyer to start tinkering with hackable sex toys, along with Paul Clifton, a graduate peer and fellow co-founder. Quitmeyer and Clifton teamed up a year ago to spearhead the tech-centric company.
“We see this open-source sex toy platform as the key for opening up the world of sex toy innovations,” one of the developers says in a promotional YouTube video.
The Mod’s Arduino-derived circuit board, called the "Dilduino,” was built to some unique specifications. Lumb reports that the 40mA maximum of most Arduino boards’ output pins is far too low a current flow for sex toy motors, so Comingle “beefed the board up” to a 500mA cap.
They also embedded a battery-charging circuit to attach USB-rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The standard $159 Mod model comes with three motors that fit into a plastic silicone mold, but savvy hackers can buy just the Dilduino and three motors alone for $60.
Then there’s the open-source component, which allows anyone interested to innovate and add their own features. Comingle’s OSSex library is a GitHub repository where the sex-hacking community can exchange and critique their sensor and hacking combos. There’s even a serial console in the repository so that you (or someone else) can control your Mod, no programming needed, through Chrome or a smartphone.
According to the developers, the Mod is gender-neutral and made from completely body-safe materials. The team considers pleasure and sensation its foremost priority.
