TheFDAhas present the green light to a equipment that avail unreasoning the great unwashed recognise optic stimuli using their mouth . The BrainPort V100 includes a pair of sunglasses fit with a telecasting television camera with a diminished electrode digs bond by a cord and an iPhone - sized control inkpad .
The TV camera convert ocular imagination to electrical signaling that the exploiter feels on their clapper . The stimulant varies based on the color of thing on the low - resolution grayscale image from the video recording . White pixels become a strong stimulation , gray pixels medium stimulation , and Shirley Temple Black pixels no input .
The exploiter holds the gadget against his or her tongue , interpret the lines and shapes trace by its 400 electrodes into images in the brain , almost like an galvanizing version of Braille . ( See it at work inthis videofrom the BBC , featuring a blind rock music climber using the gadget . )
“ Users describe the sensation as picture that are painted on the tongue with tiny bubbles , ” according toWicab , the Wisconsin - ground company that do the product . The machine does take some getting used to ; the company recommends at least 10 minute of training with it . And user cover some negative side effect , like a metal taste or stinging relate with the electrode pad of paper .
But for some , it does provide the ability to recognize visuals through a series of vibrations on the tongue . In research , 69 pct of users were able to successfully recognize aim after one yr of training with the BrainPort V100 . The FDA foresees this gadget being able-bodied to help millions of masses . The National Institutes of Health ’s National Eye Institute contrive that there will be 2.1 million Americans who are blind by 2030 , up from 1.2 million in 2010 .
Newfound tidy sum does n’t come cheap , though . The gimmick is commercially available , but costs around $ 10,000 .
[ h / t : Popular Science ]
All images courtesy Wicab Inc.
