For the travelling executive in need of intimacy or the long-distance couple seeking to let off steam, relief will be found in hi-tech goo. With a few judicious squirts of a bio-gel containing billions of nanobots and a wi-fi connection, mutual orgasm is reached via a layer of shape-shifting ectoplasm.

Of course, the partners at each end of the gel-based romp will only be with each other as the result of a DNA analysis which helpfully narrowed down their choice of a compatible mate to a dozen-strong shortlist. The lucky winner was then selected with the help of a holographic date and a virtual reality snog.

It might sound like the product of an over-excited Silicon Valley brainstorm, or the terrifyingly unerotic plot of the latest Hollywood dystopia, but this is how human love may well look by the middle of the century, according to organisers of a blue skies technology festival to take place in London later this year.

The FutureFest, an annual event designed to explore how technology will impact society over the next ten to 30 years, is to look at the booming area of scientific innovation in sex and relationships.

The growth of the global sex toy market to $15bn (£10bn) has been held up as evidence of an increasingly relaxed attitude to bringing technology into the bedroom. But experts claim this is just the beginning of its transformative effect on love lives.

Where tech meets sex Show all 6 1 /6 Where tech meets sex Where tech meets sex Lovely - the smart sex toy that has been dubbed 'the Fitbit for your penis' Tired of not being able to track the average speed of your thrusts during sex? Well, your problems will be solved with the Lovely - a sex toy that's been touted as 'the fitbit, but for your penis'. The lovely is a stretchy silicone ring, which attaches around the base of your penis. It also has a vibrator tucked inside, which stimulates both sexual partners. So far, so Ann Summers Lovely Inc Where tech meets sex The 'sex selfie stick' lets you FaceTime the inside of a vagina Further proof that the sole goal of mankind is now to take selfies absolutely everywhere possible, a vibrator that can video capture an orgasm from its epicentre has been invented. The nightmarish love child of an endoscopy and a vibrator, the 'Svakom Gaga Camera Vibrator' allows for a new level of explicitness in amateur sex tapes. Footage taken can be uploaded to PC or smartphone and the device also syncs with FaceTime, offering the unprecedented opportunity to be on the phone with someone's genitals Lovehoney Where tech meets sex Pornhub turns masturbation into energy With an estimated 41 million people visiting it every day, Pornhub figured it might be time to channel all that furious fapping into something more useful than brief, boredom-relieving ecstasy. "Every day, millions of hours of adult content are consumed online, wasting energy in the process and hurting the environment," the porn site writes on a dedicated website. "At Pornhub we decided to do something about it. Introducing The Wankband: The first wearable tech that allows you to love the planet by loving yourself." The band creates power when moved in an up and down motion, with a kinetic charger inside storing the clean (albeit slightly dirty) energy generated. It can then be connected via USB to smartphones, tablets and computers, powering them with 100% sustainable energy PornHub Where tech meets sex Men have begun 3D-printing their penises "What would happen if I put my penis in it?" It's a question man has been asking ever since it discovered it was useful in certain situations for procreation thousands of years ago. But now it has reached an absurd and mildly dystopian conclusion: 3D-printed d*ck pics. The means? A handheld 3D scanner such as Fuel3D's Scanify above. The method? By pointing it at *any* object and capturing it three-dimensionally. The reason? Who can say Fuel3D Where tech meets sex Japanese developer creates virtual breast-squeezing 'game' for the Oculus Rift Although gadgets like the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR are promising to take virtual reality into the mainstream, there are still plenty of virtual ‘experiences’ that we hope never make it out the basements they were dreamt up in. Exhibit a: a ‘game’ which lets users squeeze a virtual woman’s breasts who responds by squealing in disgust and covering up her chest. That’s right, the guy who made this didn’t even want to fabricate a positive sexual experience – instead he went for virtual abuse. The set-up works like this. The user dons an Oculus Rift to enter the virtual world populated by an anime character, he can then squeeze a novelty mouse pad with foam breasts with pressure sensors inside them. This hooked up to the virtual character who reacts accordingly Where tech meets sex Have sex with your iPad thanks to the new sex toy no-one asked for Many of us have become inseparable from our smartphones and tablets, but if you're looking to take the relationship to the next step and actually 'f*ck your iPad', sex toy brand Fleshlight has now made this possible for some reason. The company launched Fleshlight Launchpad, which allows users of their flashlight-shaped, vagina-like toy to plug it into the back of an iPad in order to 'fully immerse themselves' in whatever they're watching. The gadget "enables the user to enjoy the full Fleshlight experience while enjoying content or communicating live with a friend via applications like Facetime or Skype," makers Interactive Life Forms claim, with its trailer showing a man making use of one while video-chatting with his girlfriend

From matchmaking which could harness DNA to triage dates according to physical compatibility to all manner of gizmos that allow people to stimulate each other without the inconvenience of needing to be in the same room, the hope is that the new products will cement happier relationships and achieve more meaningful encounters. Others, however, may look at such progress as an attempt to replace human connection with the ultimate act of reliance on machines.

Love in the future DNA dating

Rather than eyes meeting across crowded rooms or even apps, future lovebirds may be able to leave the task of finding their one true love to a DNA test and an algorithm to produce the most viable match in terms of appearance, health and intelligence. Who said romance was dead? My boyfriend is a hologram

The (very expensive) technology already exists to beam a holographic version of your paramour into your sitting room. Within a decade or so it may be sufficiently cheap to have a drink or dinner with your suitor even though he or she might be inconveniently in New York. The internet of genitals

If fridges and boilers are to be plugged into the web, why not your sex life? Technologists anticipate implants or wearable technology that will allow lovers to send erotic pulses to each other at any time of day, redefining “office romance”. Virtual Reality

Already being offered in the adult entertainment industry, VR is considered to have multiple possibilities. For example, polyamorous couples could don headsets together to meet others in virtual environments.

Ghislaine Boddington, curator of the “future of love” section of the FutureFest to be held in September, said: “The aim is to look at things that aren’t around the corner but up to 30 years away and broaden horizons.

“The way we first meet or interact with people may very well involve a date with a hologram or a virtual window into your boyfriend’s bedroom. And the way we give pleasure to each other will transform - if we can email each other why can’t we vibrate each other? There is a lot of talk of an internet of genitals - devices that link up our bodies from within.

“In Britain we’ve already become less uptight and embarrassed about things like adult toys. I would like to think the direction we’ll move in is to use technology in a way that enhances and extends our understanding and use of sex.”

Quite what this means in practical terms would seem in the first instance to revolve around innovations that restore intimacy to those who cannot be together.

Products that relay a partner’s heartbeat to a small speaker under the pillow or sex aids remotely controlled via a smart phone app already exist but developers are also looking at implants that could activate when one partner thinks of another.

Robots which tap into your feelings on show at Beijing’s World Robot Exhibition

Eventually sex toys may come in liquid rather than solid form with the development of gels containing microscopic robots which each partner would apply to their erogenous zones and use to stimulate one another as the nanobots respond to instructions sent over the internet. Ms Boddington said: “You could respond to each other through the gel - you would feel each other’s orgasm and enhance it. It’s a way off but there is some pioneering work being done out there.”

With virtual reality - the use of headsets to create a 3D virtual world - already in use by some in the porn industry, organisers think VR will become far more widespread, perhaps with the addition of stimulating bodysuits.

Ms Boddington added: “Think about the benefits in situations where people have to be away from their families for long periods of time to work. The ability to still be intimate would strengthen or preserve relationships. It could also help people to access groups, for example gay or transexual communities, in places where there is repression or it is simply difficult to meet others.”

But for all the desire to embrace a brave new world of technologically tooled-up love and sex, researchers warn it must be underpinned by debate about ethics and morality.

Critics have voiced concern that as the technology becomes more attuned to human needs - robot prostitutes have been predicted by 2050 - people will be increasingly tempted to forego the trouble of forming relationships.

A more pressing concern, however, is the transfer of criminal or potentially criminal practices - paedophilia, stalking or rape role plays - into areas such as VR.