And despite Lora DiCarlo’s branding as a feminist, consent-focused company, there were multiple reports of inappropriate behavior and harassment within the office. “I would have used, not-clean sex toys from my manager on my desk when I’d come in for work,” recalls Ada-Rhodes Short, formerly the company’s senior mechatronic design engineer. Now, the revolutionizing ideas and technology behind the device that started it all has finally arrived. No longer just a concept, the hotly-anticipated Osé released just a couple months ago. And like all new tech that made big claims during the prototyping phase (in the immortal words of Elon Musk, "We'll fix it in post,") it must now face the scrutiny of living up to all its big promises. In a world where sex and female sexuality are usually hidden behind closed doors, Lora DiCarlo has fundamentally disrupted societal perceptions and pioneered innovation in sextech. As a woman-run startup that is determined to change the face of the industry, founded in 2017, its premier device was developed in partnership with Oregon State University's Robotics and Engineering and, until today, Osé continues to be the company’s most popular product, accounting for 36% of its sales. And yet, this product was the reason for many controversies in the past. One billion people around the world live with some form of disability, making up around 15% of the global population, but their sexual needs are still shrouded in taboo. Because of this, there are no or, at least, not enough products and services on the market that have been designed with their needs in mind.

It sure sounds nice when the manual instructs to "let curiosity be your guide" while figuring it out. On paper, Osé's customizable flexibility would make it seem optimal for experimentation. In reality, discovering what feels good with the Osé requires messing around with it while it's on inside you, and turning it on while it's even at slightly the wrong angle can be excruciating. There's a reason the instructions emphatically and repeatedly state that the device should be completely turned off before being inserted or removed. Yet even if you do your best to follow those instructions, there's still ample room for an accident to happen while you're wrestling this unwieldy demon. Allegedly, this is only a one-time process and once you find your fit, you won't need to do it again. I can't tell you if that's true or not. For some users, it just doesn't fit, which is also true for some other beloved, popular, expensive toys like the Womanizer. With the device in pieces, Sloan tells me he feels vindicated. He'd been skeptical of Lora DiCarlo's claim to have created a “microrobotic” device. “Unless it's so ‘micro’ that I can't see it with my human eyes, it's just normal stuff that belongs in consumer products,” he says. When I put this to the company, the engineering director, Kim Porter, explained that the “microrobotics” were less about equipment size than precision of motion. She sent over a detailed list of specs related to its “come-hither motion precision” and use of infrared and magnetic sensors. I ran these by Eric Diller, a microrobotics expert at the University of Toronto, and he said they might satisfy a “loose definition” of the term.But what had really bothered Sloan was the Osé's puffed-up presentation and DiCarlo's posture as a trade-show activist. It was unfair, he thought, to the many hard-working vibrator entrepreneurs who'd built the industry she now claimed to upend. The sex tech space has come such a long way, and Lora has played such a big role in filling the gap in the market by creating products that are gender-inclusive. She’s also a big advocate in the wellness space. Lora has made such a name for herself as someone who, more or less, defies the norms, and I just have immense respect for her. The retailer was surprised by the development. “Lora DiCarlo was a beautiful brand,” says a representative from it. “We carried the entire line since the store opening, and it was always in the five top performers.” The focus is now not only on the device but on the technology within the device," said the analyst Milanesi.

CES has updated its policies for the 2020 show: Pornography still isn't allowed at the show but apparently the ban will be more aggressively enforced. Booth staff, regardless of gender, aren't allowed to wear clothing that "reveals an excess of bare skin, or body-conforming clothing that hugs genitalia," a move that seeks to completely end the long tradition of so-called CES "booth babes."of men from 18 to 59 years old suffer from PE at some point in their lives, and a more recent study has shown that premature ejaculation (PE) is likely to be the most common sexual dysfunction in men, with a worldwide prevalence of approximately 30%. Since its inception in 2017, MYHIXEL has become a pioneering brand focused on men's sexual health with a strong scientific and technological foundation, developing solutions for ejaculatory control. “Tech innovation is our main resource, together with scientific research. Our method consists of a cognitive behavioral therapy program in the form of our gamified app, which helps the user complete specific activities through our pleasure device.”