NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Considering how important they are to modern society and how little people like wearing the things, it’s a wonder that the design of the condom has barely changed over hundreds of years. The drawback of having a prophylactic that is so widely disliked has even inspired the Gates Foundation to make the invention of “the Next Generation of Condom” one of their Grand Challenges in Global Health — a research initiative designed to find solutions to 15 global health problems.

“The one major drawback to more universal use of male condoms is the lack of perceived incentive for consistent use,” reads the competition’s guidelines. “We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use.”

Now, in response to the Gates Foundation challenge, a pair of PhD students have created a ” digital condom“: a prophylactic that sends electrical impulses through the material to create pleasurable sensations.