There's long been a dearth of innovative design in the sex tech industry: In the words of Lora Haddock DiCarlo, founder of CES-award winning sex toy company Lora DiCarlo, the field's output throughout 20th century amounted to little more than "the vibrator, over and over again. The same thing in different shades of pink."

Over the past decade, however, a new wave of startups has emerged, creating products that look and operate very differently to the sex toys of old. Companies like Unbound and Dame Products have revamped the sex toy aesthetic, offering sleek, modern designs alongside more familiar phallic options.

Several of Crave's products are designed to be worn as conversation-starting jewelry, while Lora DiCarlo's have replaced vibration with something more akin to human motion, mimicking the touch of a finger or tongue. Some companies, like Tabú, don't center on products at all, instead offering digital resources to teach consumers about sex and wellness.

However, while these products may be new, sex tech is anything but. Unbound CEO Polly Rodriguez, who defined it as "any technology that enhances, aids or supports human sexuality," explained: "It's been around since human beings were around -- the oldest dildo is 30,000 years old."