BrainPort: The device that allows blind people to ’see’ using their tongues
We’ve seen a lot of gadgets to help the visually impaired, but we think this one is the coolest.
The BrainPort is a device that takes information gathered by a tiny camera in a pair of glasses and sends it to a lollipop electrode array that sits on your tongue, where the brain’s visual cortex will get to work.
The lollipop contains a square grid of 600 electrodes which pulsate according to how much light is in that area of the picture. In other words, you’re actually seeing the world around you with your mouth.
People using the gadget say that with several hours of training they can make out shapes and even read signs.
The device is currently awaiting FDA approval, but if all goes well, the BrainPort should be available by the end of the year at a cost of about $10,000.
Watch the BrainPort at work:
[via Scientific American]
